
Qass. 
Book. 



WIITEK FROM HOME. 

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I 



NEW-YOEK : 11 

JOHN F. TROW, PRINTER, 49 ANN-STREET. Jj' 



1852. 



I 



ChaT\es /\ . L\\v\toT\^ Su^Posti author. 



'Tsy'f 



WOTEPi FROM HOME. 



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NEW-YOEK : 
JOHN F. TEOW, PEINTEPv, 49 ANN-STEEET. 

1852. 



T2(3 



A WLNTEll FROM HOME, 



It was a briglit morning in November — we steamed down the 
Potomac, in a comfortable boat, and bad a passing glimpse of 
Mount Vernon, which should be the property of the nation, with- 
out reference to cost and the locality of the Washington Monu- 
ment. At Acquia Creek we took the cars for Kichmond, where we 
arrived late in the afternoon. 

Finding that we were in an excellent hotel, we passed two 
days in this beautiful town. Here we saw the Turkey Buzzard 
sailing in the clear atmosphere without fluttering a wing, or ap- 
parently ruffling a feather. This was the first positive indication 
that we were approaching the South. We rode and sauntered 
about the place, seeing all that generally attracts the attention of 
strangers. We visited the Capitol, of course — the statue of 
Washington ; saw the river meandering quietly along at the foot 
of the hills ; the grave-yards, flour mills, public edifices ; the 
island where Chief Justice Marshall used to play quoits, and the 
Theatre. But this place has been so well described in Bryant's 
Summer Tour, that we shall not venture to say more about it. 

We left on the railroad late in the afternoon for Wilmington, 
and at Petersburgh and Weldon, to our great annoyance, were 
compelled to change cars, tnere being interruption in the road at 
both these places. We were compelled, in the middle of the 
night, to ride or walk a considerable distance, and at the latter of 



4 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

these places, the baggage was re-ticketed, without sufficient notice 
to the passengers, so that it was by mere good luck that we did 
not leave our trunks on the road, as the attaches were not the 
most communicative persons in the world. We generally passed 
through a poor country, and the night was lighted up by the fires 
in the pine woods, where they were making turpentine. The 
country was dreary and monotonous, and sleep was out of the 
question, as we had the company of a theatrical corps, who made 
night hideous with their polyglot conversation in German, French 
and Italian. It was a second dispersion of the tower of Babel. 
The following morning, our worthy fellow-travellers were lunching 
at an early hour on bread and sausages ; and the atmosphere was 
redolent of the fumes of their wicker covered bottles. During 
the niglit, we passed several fields of cotton, which, in the imper- 
fect light, resembled snow, and was new to most of the travellers. 
Some of the passengers brought several stalks into the car, and 
they were much admired by those who had never seen cotton 
growing before. But notwithstanding this little episode, it was a 
dull ride. The night was cold, the changing of cars annoying, 
the country dreary and uninteresting, the towns few and far be- 
tween, and the negro huts along the road most forbidding in ap- 
pearance. We made several pleasant acquaintances, however, 
and received a polite invitation from a respectable planter to visit 
him in Mississippi. He was on his return from the North, with 
his family, and we found them agreeable and intelligent persons. 
At Wilmington, we took passage in the steamer of the same 
name, and on the following morning found ourselves in the Charles- 
ton Hotel. 

We passed several days at Charleston, and amused ourselves 
in exploring all the novelties of a southern city. The hotel was 
excellent, and the attendants were all white persons, being gene- 
rally considered better servants than the blacks. The weather 
was warm, but not too much so for locomotion. We had some little 
curiosity about this place, in consequence of the belligerent atti- 
tude that it had occasionally assumed towards the general govern- 



A AVINTER FROM HOME. 5 

ment, and enjoyed a delightful moonliglit walk on the battery, 
with some southern friends. We saw the statue of Mr. Calhoun, 
which is life-like and imposing I was personally acquainted 
with this distinguished gentleman, and believe him to have been 
a perfectly honest man, although a monomaniac on the subject 
of slavery I recollect passing a pleasant evening in his company 
at Washington, and listening with great pleasure to his remarks 
on literary and general subjects. His conversational talent was 
very great. He had read much and reflected deeply. He was an 
excellent English scholar, and was more familiar with books than 
with men. His speech on the Oregon question was a fine rheto- 
rical display, evidently deeply studied, and prepared with care. 
It was only when he narrowed his mind down to the one idea of 
slavery, that he ceased to be a statesman, and dwindled to the 
dimensions of a mere sectional politician. Such was his election, 
however, and instead of a general and wide-spread renown, he has 
only left a local celebrity. He was a pure and honest man. how- 
ever, and that is saying much in these latter days. 

I had some pleasant acquaintances here whom I did not visit, 
and several letters to distinguished persons, which were volun- 
teered by friends, which I did not deliver. We were merely 
passing through, and all our time was fully occupied in seeing 
the curiosities of the city. Among other places, we visited the 
Market, which is most decidedly inferior to those of New- York, 
Boston and and Philadelphia. The game and fish markets, how- 
ever, were excellent. Saw at one stand, venison, hares, (vul- 
garly called rabbits.) wild turkeys, English snipe, and wood and 
other wild ducks. At others, we noticed the rock crab, quantities of 
large shrimp, sheeps head, striped bass, small blue fish, flounders 
and others of the piscatory family. The butchers' mea. was gener- 
ally inferior. Tropical fruits, direct from Havana, were in profu- 
sion. We noticed oranges, grapes, green cocoa-nuts, bananas, &c.j 
pretty much as we see them in New-York, but with the advantage of 
a day or two's time in the voyage. The negroes were also selling 
quantities of sugar cane, to which many people appear to be par- 



6 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

tial. There was also a respectable show of flowers, and I bought 
a large bunch of beautiful monthly roses for a dime : at Dunlap's 
it would have cost me several dollars. The greatest curiosity of 
the market is the number of turkey buzzards seen walking about 
and reluctantly moving out of your v^ay. These birds are ex- 
cellent scavengers, and are protected by law. It is an awkward, 
uncouth bird on the ground, but in the air, one of the most grace- 
ful of the feathered kind, impelling itself forward without an 
apparent effort, and sailing along without seeming exertion. 

We went to the opera, of course, and found ourselves in a re- 
spectable looking building, crowded from pit to gallery, with a 
well-dressed, refined, and intelligent audience The company was 
the same that we are accustomed to at the Astor Opera House, 
and the opera was an old and familiar acquaintance. 

TVe reached Savannah in the Calhoun, an admirable sea boat, 
built in New-York. The wind was blowing fresh, but our craft 
behaved well, passing every thing she met, and shooting with 
great rapidity ahead of the U. S. Cutter, which Is reputed to be 
a fast vessel. The Savannah papers of the following day speak 
of the gale of yesterday, which surprised us very much, as we 
should not have thought it any thing beyond a good sailing 
breeze. In landing at Savannah, we were greatly annoyed by the 
competing omnibus men. Our baggage was forcibly seized and 
distributed on the different coaches, and after having made our 
election of a carriage, we had some trouble in getting every thing 
together. The city authorities should amend this matter, in jus- 
tice to travellers, particularly as Savannah has now become a great 
thoroughfare, and is certainly benefitted by the money of persons 
passing through it. 

At the Pulaski, we were in excellent quarters, with a kind and 
attentive landlord ; clean and comfortable rooms, and a good 
table, on which I observed fine sirloins of beef, designated on the 
bill of fare, " Fulton Market Beef," which is sent from our city 
by the steamers in return for the early fruits and esculents re- 
ceived from the South, ' 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 7 

Opposite to our hotel is a monument to Grreene and Pulaski, 
which is to be removed, and a new one substituted in its place. 
At present it is certainly no great ornament to the city. We 
wandered about this place, wading through the sandy streets, and 
were delighted with the pure and balmy atmosphere ; and dis- 
pensing with my coat, in sitting by the window of my room, I 
could not but contrast the warm airs of the South most favorably 
with the cold winds of our more northern climate. When I left 
the North River, the summer foliage had disappeared, and the 
frost-tinted verdure which Cole's paintings so faithfully represent, 
had taken its place. Here every thing is green and bright. The 
trees in the public squares are covered with verdure ; the syca- 
more, the mulberry, and the rich, green, thick-foliaged olive. This 
latter tree, I believe, is not known at the North. The court- 
yards of the houses are filled with flowers, among which, I noticed 
some of the cacti,* the morning-glory, and several varieties of 
roses We saw some beautiful pomegranates from a private gar- 
den, and quantities of figs, which are common here. The tree, 
as is well known, is an unsightly object, although the fruit is 
excellent. While in this city we made some pleasant acquaint- 
ances, and received kind invitations from two gentlemen, to visit 
them at their plantations. With one of them we were entirely 
unacquainted, except by reputation, and highly appreciated his 
warm-hearted and unexpected kindness. 

On the morning after our arrival, I passed through the market 
in search of some flowers for my companion, but was unsuccessful 
in finding any. The market is indifi'erent, and my landlord in- 
forms me that he receives beef from New-York, by the arrival of 
every steamer. We have not yet seen a palmetto tree, although 
I am told that there is one in Charleston, and three or four in 
this city. 

We embarked in a small but comfortable boat, called the 
Welaka, for Florida, taking the inner passage, and passing 
through narrow channels and crossing numerous inlets, or sounds 
as they are called here. We had a view of several beautiful islands, 



8 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

which constitute the break-waters of the bays; and numerous 
rice plantations margined the shore. This passage is a curious 
one, and the channels through the meadows or marshes, are some- 
times very narrow and circuitous. The channel through the 
'•Rumbling Marsh," as it is called, is so contracted and winding, 
that we were compelled to poll off the bow of the boat in passing 
through it. We were on a sharp look out for alligators, which are 
frequently seen on this route, but were not fortunate enough to 
encounter any of them. We had a pleasant passage, although 
compelled to anchor for several hours at night, in consequence of 
a heavy thunder storm. During the day we passed Darien and 
Brunswick — the former of which is celebrated for groves of oran- 
ges, and at the latter, a canal is making, connecting the Altamaha 
River with the ocean, which will be richly remunerative to the 
proprietors. 

The following morning found us on the open ocean, running 
from St. Marys to the mouth of the St. John's River. In passing 
the inlet we saw the white and gray pelican for the first time. 
The sand bars were in some places literally crowded with them. 
They were intermixed with several varieties of gulls and other mi- 
gratory birds. We also saw the palmetto tree, which gave quite an 
oriental aspect to the scenery. As we entered the river we landed 
passengers near a large saw mill, and found that all the laborers 
were colored people. Several square-rigged vessels were at anchor, 
waiting for the tide, or taking in cargoes of lumber. There is an 
inner passage from St. Marys to the St. John's which is used by 
the boats in rough weather. But it is very circuitous and shal- 
low, and in one spot difficult, from the hull of a sunken boat lying 
near the channel. The outer passage is consequently preferred, 
unless the weather is very bad. These steamers are not well cal- 
culated for rough weather, although excellent River Boats. Some 
enterprising persons have lately put on a new boat called the 
Florida, which takes the outside passage from Savannah, running 
as high up the river as Pilatka, and occasionally making a direct 
voyage to St. Augustine. This is unquestionably the best mode 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 9 

of reaching that place, and will be preferred by all who know any 
thing about the roads of this portion of Eastern Florida. 

In a few hours we reached Jacksonville, continuing our course 
South, the river running from the South to the North, an excep- 
tion, and I believe a solitary one, to the other rivers in this coun- 
try. We passed several small plantations ; the handsome island 
of St. Georges, and saw occasional evidences of settlement, but as 
a general rule the shores are unoccupied. They are generally 
low, and the swamps frequently approach to the river, rendering 
settlement undesirable, if not impossible. We stopped at Jack- 
sonville, a small village, where there are two or three saw mills, 
but witnessed no great evidences of activity. This is the com- 
mencement of the stage route to Middle Florida ; and good coaches 
run to Alligator three times a week, uniting with Stoke's line to 
Talahassee. There are two or three taverns, and several boarding- 
houses, which are filled with consumptives from the north, who 
congregate here in great numbers. We saw some of them in the 
last stage of the disease, dragging themselves along, like disconso- 
late ghosts on the banks of the Styx. Several die here every 
winter, coming too late to be benefitted by a change of climate. 
It is the heartless custom of too many physicians to send incura- 
ble patients abroad, depriving them of all the comforts and kind- 
ness of home, and holding out hopes of cure, which they know to 
be unfounded, — a practice which cannot be sufficiently reprobated 
for its heartlessness and cruelty. 

Either climates, or the opinions of medical men in reference 
to the adaptation of particular climates to the consumption, have 
essentially changed within the last half century. Always mani- 
festing a desire to rid themselves of incurable patients, and not 
having the courage to tell them that consumption is incurable 
when tubercles are formed on the lungs, they too inconsiderately 
exile them from the smiles and cares of their families to a strange 
residence, and the mercenary attention of strangers. At one 
time they were sent to the South of France ; at another to 
Charleston ; and now to Florida Incipient consumption is often 
1^ 



10 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

arrested in this latter delightful winter climate, and valuable lives 
prolonged for years, by a residence here. We speak assuredly 
on this subject, knowing several instances of this kind. But this 
is only in the early stage of the disease ; or in cases of inflamma- 
tion of the lungs ; but where it has been long seated, and the 
cold night sweats, the dry and hard cough, and constant expec- 
toration, proclaim that this dreadful disease has acquired the 
complete mastery ; and where the wasted body, the feeble gait, 
and the unearthly brightness of the eye indicate speedy dissolu- 
tion, it seems the very acme of cruelty to send the suffering pa- 
tient to die in a strange place, and in the arms of strangers, by 
holding out the fallacious hope of recovery. We saw several 
most painful instances of this kind. Persons who had hardly 
strength enough to walk, and almost emaciated to skeletons : and 
in every such instance, we thought that the cruelty of the medical 
adviser could not be sufficiently condemned. If physicians will 
send their patients to a more genial winter climate in time, and be- 
fore the disease has become deeply seated, many lives will undoubt- 
edly be prolonged ; but if the matter is delayed, as is too generally 
the case, until the eleventh hour, neither travel nor change of 
climate will prove of the slightest efficacy. In mercy let all such 
afflicted persons stay at home, surrounded by accustomed comforts 
and kindness — living in a regulated temperature, and avoiding 
exposure. It is assuredly better in extreme cases to be a prison- 
er for a few winter months in your own house, enjoying the soci- 
ety of your family and friends, than to wander to strange places, 
and be subjected to the fatigues of travel, and all the privations 
and discomforts of the too indifferent lodging-houses of the 
Southern States. 

Late in the afternoon we landed at Picolata, which figures so 
largely on the map, and contains a couple of houses and a long 
wharf. There are the remains of a Spanish fort here, which 
Bartram describes as '• very ancient," and as " a square tower 
thirty feet high, invested with a high wall, witliout bastions about 
breast high, pierced with loop-holes, and surrounded with a deep 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 11 

ditch. The upper story is open on each side, with battlements 
supporting a cupola or roof : these battlements were formerly 
mounted with eight four-pounders, two on each side." This fort 
was constructed of stone from Anastasia Island, a concrete of 
sea shells and white sand. At the time it was occupied by the 
Spaniards, they were in possession of several other points in 
Florida, but in consequence of their refusal to surrender some 
Indian murderers, the oJBfendcd tribes made war upon them, di- 
vested them of most of their possessions, and drove them into the 
walls of St. Augustine, to the possession of which their power in 
East Florida was limited. 

We were much struck with the beauty of this spot. We 
walked from the boat to a white frame cottage, kept as a boarding 
house by a very respectable lady. It is a neat and pretty build- 
ing, and was situated in a grove of colossal live oaks, beautifully 
festooned with green moss hanging from the branches, and almost 
reaching the ground. We also saw several varieties of the cac- 
tusses ; palmettos, and wild orange trees, while roses and other 
flowers were in full bloom. After expressing our admiration of 
this exquisite scene by various exclamations, we took the stage, and 
after a long and tedious ride, found ourselves at a late hour in 
the far-famed city of St. Augustine. 

The following day being the Sabbath, we attended the Epis- 
copal church, and heard an excellent discourse from the rector, 
who is an intelligent, well-informed gentleman. This church is 
situated on the south side of the only public square in the place. 
It is a modern wooden building, without stove or furnace, as it 
is seldom necessary to warm it. I have sat in my pew in Janu- 
ary with the windows open, admitting the gentle and luxurious 
wind. The congregation is small, but composed of some of the 
most distinguished people in the city, and a few ladies furnish a 
respectable choir. There are some neat edifices on the same side 
of the square with the church. The square itself is composed of 
some half dozen acres, surrounded by an indifferent wooden fence, 
and without any shade trees. There is a monument in the centre, 



12 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

in honor of the Spanish Cortez, but it has no beauty to recom- 
mend it. On the west side of the square is an old Spanish build- 
ing, which is used for various public offices ; on the north stands 
the Catholic Cathedral, and a few dilapidated buildings ; and on the 
east, the public market, a small wooden structure adjoining the 
sea wall and harbor. I have been particular in describing this 
locality, as it is one of the principal objects in the place. 

St. Augustine is the oldest and least prosperous city in the 
union. It is an old Spanish town, built of coquino from the ex- 
tensive quarries on Anastasia Island. This stone is soft and 
easily quarried, but hardens by exposure to the air. It resists 
heat and moisture, but crumbles under the influence of frost. It 
is well adapted for building in this southern climate, and is easily 
worked. The sea wall and fort of St. Marks are built of it. The 
streets are narrow and unpaved, and dilapidated houses meet the 
eye in every direction. The governor's palace and custom-house 
must once have been fine buildings, but are now mere heaps of 
ruins. The modern buidings are principally of wood, with veran- 
dahs projecting from the second story, and are generally old and 
common in appearance. There are probably not more than a 
dozen in the whole place that would be considered comfortable at 
the north. The favorite walk is the sea wall, which was built by 
the general government. It extends the whole front of the town, 
and is really a delightful lounge in a winter evening. About the 
centre of the wall there is a long wharf, which was recently 
erected ; and a little beyond it, a bath-house, which is in great 
request at all seasons of the year, as the cold seldom interferes 
with this delightful exercise. The oldest, inhabited house in the 
place was pointed out to me. It is a large flat-roofed building of 
coquino. distinguished by two gutters of the same material pro- 
jecting about two feet from the front of the building, near the roof. 
The streets are narrow and unpaved, and you have the advantage 
of always having a shady side to walk in ; and they are uniformly 
dry, as the sand quickly absorbs all moisture. 

There is a custom house here, and the collector has probably 



A WINTER FEOM HOME. 13 

some official patronage ; but I should suppose that like Grold- 
smith's broken tea-cups, the office was rather for ornament than use, 
as there was but one arrival while we were here : a vessel from 
New-York with a cargo of sundries, among which I noticed rice ; 
the freight from New-York being lower than from Savannah, on 
account of the sandy road between the city and river St. Johns. 
I believe that the collector receives a nominal salary ; and a small 
office like this is as much competed for here as larger ones with 
us. In fact, politics, the partial necessity, and at the same time 
bane of the country, are as violent and rancorous here as else- 
where.. There is no Eden from which the serpent can be ex- 
cluded. 

During the greater part of the period that we were here, the 
weather seldom interfered with our out-door amusements. We 
walked, fished, hunted, or rode ; and frequently in the months of 
December and January sat on the piazza, chatting until a late 
hour in the evening. But the latter enjoyment was sometimes 
interrupted, and fires within doors were acceptable. The winter 
was unusually severe, and for the first time since 1835 they had 
snow. You feel the cold more sensibly than at the north, the 
houses not being as well calculated to resist it. But a better 
opinion can be formed of the climate by extracting from a journal 
that I kept, giving the dates. 

To Nov. 30th, shooting, fishing and riding, alternately. Bought 
several boughs of the sour orange trees, filled with fruit, to deco- 
rate our rooms. Walked through an avenue of wild orange 
trees loaded with unripe and ripe fruit. We have eaten the 
guava, the fig and the sweet orange since we have been here, and 
were compelled to return home, when shooting, more than once 
by the heat. The oleander here is a large tree, thirty or forty 
feet high, and filled with beautiful flowers. They would make the 
fortune of a northern horticulturist. The arrow root, cassava 
snd sugar cane grow in the gardens. The rose is in full bloom ; 
butterflies hover over beds of flowers : mocking-birds, although 
unhappily not now in song, are on every tree ; and while our 



14 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

friends are sbiveriDg at the North, we are in summer costume. 
We also saw the guava, burgamot, lemon, pomegranate and prick- 
ly-pear, which is much larger than with us, and bears fruit in pro- 
fusion ; and the peach and j^lum tree are in blossom. Green peas 
are ripe, although in small quantities. We had peas and other 
new vegetables for our Christmas dinner, distributed homoeopathi- 
cally. As I itinerated in the vicinity of the town with my gun, 
I saw the sandpiper, the golden plover, mocking-bird, raven, the 
turtle and ground doves, several varieties of snipe, meadow larks, 
hawks, crows, quails, buzzards, kildeers, jackdaws, yellow shanks, 
willetts, tattlers, herons, cranes, black birds, common and white 
bittern, sea partridge, wild duck, and an occasional English snipe. 
During this month the inhabitants took large quantities of mullet, 
which came into the bay to spawn. They capture them with a 
cast net, like that mentioned in scripture. The mullet is a fa- 
vorite article of food with many of the inhabitants, and are fre- 
quently dried in the sun, as we have seen the herrings at Cape 
Cod — but with this difference, that the atmosphere, from its 
greater dryness, is not tainted with a strong fishy odor, as in the 
latter place. This appears to be a good country for the grape. 
A gentleman in this place planted the vine, but when the fruit 
was ripe, the mocking-birds attacked it in great numbers. He 
shot several hundred in one season, but in the long run they con- 
quered him. A good netting over the grapes would have su- 
perseded the necessity of this wholesale murder of these interest- 
ing little robbers. 

One of the greatest deprivations we experienced was the want 
of ice, which, with a little effort, might easily be procured from 
Savannah. We found the water brackish and indifferent ; and 
although in due time we became accustomed to it, we often 
thought of miniature ice-bergs, from Rockland Lake, floating in 
pitchers filled with the waters of Croton ; and it was positively 
cruel to be reminded of a sherry cobbler or mint julep. Bail- 
lie Nicoll Jarvie says, that a man cannot carry the comforts of 
the Saut Market with him when he travels, and we were too fre- 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 15 

quentlj reminded of this ; and our indifferent bread and strong 
butter, contrasted unfavorably with the products of the mills of 
Rochester, and the dairies of Orange county. I do not mean, 
howeyer, to disparage the house at which we lived. We fared as 
well as any one in the place ; our table was abundantly supplied ; we 
had good vegetables, meats, venison and wild turkeys in profusion, 
and if provisions came from one place and the cook from another, 
it was no fault of the keeper of the house, who did the best that 
could be expected under the circumstances. There are no such 
things as intelligence offices in the place, and you must take what 
you can get. Good cooks are not as plenty as sour oranges ; and 
the monarch of stewpans and skillets can, under these disadvan- 
tages, hardly be expected to have been matriculated in the col- 
lege of Ude, or to have studied under Soyer. But notwithstanding 
all this, we lived very comfortably. We had a kind and attentive 
landlord ; the house was neat, the bedding and rooms excellent ; 
we breathed a pure and salubrious atmosphere, and our appetites 
were seldom impaired for want of exercise. In addition to this, 
we had some agreeable and intelligent inmates, books in abun- 
dance, the newspapers, and above all, occasional letters from 
home. 

We remained here until the latter part of January, and du- 
ring this period, we had every variety of weather : hot, moist, 
dry, and cold. It was sometimes too warm, and occasionally al- 
most too cold to leave the house. December 9th, I find that it is 
noted too warm for rod or gun. The 12th, thermometer at 74 at 
12 M. ; the 13th, rain at intervals — a dull day ; loth, a cold 
rainy day, very much like our March weather ; 16th, a cold rain 
in the morning — clear in the afternoon; 17th, thermometer 34° 
at 8 A. M. ; a clear and cold day. Dec, 18th, ice half an inch 
thick — the thermometer 24© at 8 A. M. — the water in the streets 
frozen. This is the coldest weather that they have had here for 
seventeen years. The house very cold and uncomfortable, and 
the natives still more so ; hardly any one to be seen in the streets. 
The flowers of yesterday are prostrated, and a pine apple in the 



16 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

court yard is covered by a white cloth to protect it from the frost 
—its speedy death is not problematical. The poor invalids are 
all housed and coughing. We had ice water, the first of the sea- 
son. Dec. 19th, weather still very cold — saw ice in a tub an inch 
thick. " The oldest inhabitants '' complain bitterly of it. It has 
materially checked vegetation and killed some of the most tender 
plants. The potatoes are slightly nipped, but the peas seem in- 
different to it. Dec. 22d, an overcast day, with occasional show- 
ers, very much like a mild April day in New-York ; 28th at 9 A. 
M., mercury at 74o. January 1st, a mild, pleasant day, and we 
are sitting with open windows; 2d, chilly weather. Jan. 18th, a 
cold day — at 12 M., thermometer at 30o ; snow in the morning, 
the residue of the day, rain and sleet; the ground covered with ice, 
and icicles hanging from the roof. As I before observed, we 
are more sensitive to cold here than at the North, the houses not 
being calculated for winter — the windows and doors loose and 
openings in every direction for the admission of the cold air; 
and the fire places wide and deep, consuming a great deal of wood 
and emitting but little heat ; the chill penetrates to the marrow? 
and the alternations from heat to cold are sudden and frequent. 
This is a fair representation of the last winter, and although the 
weather was generally delightful, it was occasionally more coquet- 
tish than agreeable. It must be recollected, however, that the 
winter was unusually severe ; and that there may not be a recur- 
rence of a similar one for many years. The present has been 
very destructive to the fruits and flowers : and the lemons, pome- 
granates, guavas and limes, which a few days since were flourish- 
ing in all the pride of fruit and flower, are now killed down to 
the root. Florida oranges at one time had a high reputation, but 
the trees were generally injured, and many killed in the winter 
of 1835. Subsequent attempts to recuscitate them have failed, 
from the presence of an insect, which destroyed most of them. 
Several trees were pointed out to m.e covered with this animal- 
cule, and my attention was directed to various furrows made in 
their ranks, which is said to be done by an insect which has re- 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 17 

cently appeared, and feeds upon the destroyer without injuring 
the tree. It is supposed by some persons that the tree will yet 
be restored to its pristine vigor, and the fruit again become an 
important article of commerce to the State. Several gentlemen 
are turning their attention to the cultivation of the tree, budding 
the sweet on the sour orange, which grows spontaneously in many 
parts of East Florida. St. Augustine, when the sweet orange 
flourished, is said to have been perfumed by the rich odor of the 
flower : and captains of vessels relate that they have often per- 
ceived it when entering the harbor. 

It may be a question whether the climate is adapted to persons 
suffering from pulmonary affections. It is understood to be ordi- 
narily better than it was during the last winter, when it was cer- 
tainly as Protean as the disease it professes to benefit. I should 
have serious doubts whether a residence so immediately in the 
vicinity of the ocean, was generally adapted to this devastating 
complaint. There are several individuals in St. Augustine, who 
come on from the North, affected, or at least threatened with con- 
sumption, who have prolonged their useful lives by a residence 
here ; and on the other hand, there are known instances, where 
the disease has orginated, and been fatal to persons born in the 
place. The atmosphere, surcharged as it is with saline particles, 
I should consider too stimulating for pulmonary affections, al- 
though to a person in ordinary health, or merely predisposed to 
this sickness, nothing can be more grateful than the sweet and 
balmy atmosphere that he inhales. In this country there is of 
course a considerable diversity of opinion as to the best locality 
for consumptive patients. Some prefer this spot, which affords 
the best accomodations in this part of Florida, while others scat- 
ter along the St. John's river, at Jacksonville, Picolata, Palatka, 
and Lake Monroe, where they escape the ocean atmosphere. 
Orange or Suwanee Springs, I have no doubt, will in course of 
time, become great resorts for this class of invalids ; and the 
climate at Tampa Bay is said to be one of the most genial and 
luxurious in the world. There is a wide range for selection, and 



18 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

various places will be favored by different persons, according 
to taste or circumstances. Medical advisers will have pre- 
ferences, and patients will frequently act under their advice 
without pretending to judge for themselves, forgetting the nume- 
rous antagonistic theories that obtain in this learned profession 
— that while one travels the old fashioned alopathic turnpike, 
the green lanes of homoeopathy are preferred by many ; while 
some voyage over the broad lakes and deep rivers of hydropathy. 

The country in the vicinity of St. Augustine is sterile and 
sandy, covered with a growth of pine and some hard timber and 
palmetto. "We visited a sugar plantation in the vicinity of the 
place, which did not promise to pay for the labor expended upon 
it. The cane was small and of the ribbed kind, and while the 
vegetables were more promising, they were vastly inferior to the 
produce of our northern gardens. There is nothing very tempt- 
ing to a farmer or planter in the aspect of this part of Eastern 
Florida, and if it were denuded of its timber, it would be a vast 
sandy desert, were it not for occasional hammocks of land, and 
numerous swamps, and other fresh water deposits, which are the 
favorite homes of the alligator and deadly mocasin snake. 

The Minorcan population of St. Augustine, with just indigna- 
tion, repel the imputation of a servile origin. That their ancestors 
were freemen and grossly imposed upon by Governor Turnbull, 
no one can doubt, who reads the history of the country. To 
judge from the names among them, they are of mixed origin — 
Italian, Greek, Spanish, and some from the Island of Minorca. 
They are generally of the Roman Catholic Church, and are a 
mild and amiable people. They live on little, and with small 
labor. Their savings are mostly invested in slaves, whom they 
frequently hire out. Their numerical superiority enables them 
to elect the corporation ; and I am told that they have imposed 
an annual tax of twelve and a half cents on every slave owned 
here, and ten dollars on all employed here and owned elsewhere. 
I am not certain that this is true, but if so. the fact of their own- 
ing tlie slaves, probably explains the cause of this difference. In 



A WINTER FEOM HOME. 19 

other words, they are what in modern phraseology are called Pro- 
tectionists ; advocating a high tariff on foreign labor, for the 
supposed benefit of home productions. Contented with little, 
they are not as energetic as the people of other States who have 
settled among them, nor have they the intelligence and enter- 
prise of the inhabitants of the north. But in exemption from 
crime few communities excel them, and it is to their great honor 
that there is no prison in the place, or if there is one it has been 
tenantless for years ; my impression is, however, that one does 
not exist here, as the black steward of the only vessel that ar- 
rived during the winter, was confined in the fort until she sailed, 
for deliberately and intentionally violating the laws of the State, 
in entering the town without a permit. Although they are said 
to be poor, I believe that there are no town paupers among them, 
and I have seen but one beggar in the streets, a worthless little 
Minorca lad, who asked for money without the knowledge of his 
parents and friends, who, I was told, would be exceedingly mor- 
tified if they knew the fact. They are accused of being parsimo- 
nious, but if they are poor, as is alleged, what is called parsimony 
is nothing more than necessary prudence. Their wants are few, 
and they live on very little : they take fish and oysters, and hunt 
turkeys and deer ; raise a little poultry, and purchase a moderate 
amount of groceries, which, with a few vegetables, enable them to 
live comfortably. I knew several of them, and always found them 
obliging, polite, and amiable ; and never received a rude answer, 
nor the slightest incivility or unkindness while in the place. They 
have large families, if one can judge from the numbers of children 
moving in the streets, and collected at the corners. They have 
the habits of the people of Catholic countries, and do not observe 
the Sabbath with the same strictness as at the north. I have seen 
hunting parties on this day, yet, at the same time, the cathedral 
is well filled with numerous and well-dressed worshippers. Take 
them all in all, they are a kind and good people, and far superior 
to many that we meet in all other parts of the world. There is 
nothing about them to dislike, and much to admire and esteem. 



20 A AVINTER FROM HOME. 

Although not an enterprising people, they are. in this respect, 
like the residue of the community in which they live. St. 
Augustine has neither commerce nor business, except the ordinary 
retail sales of a small place. It is isolated and sequestered from 
the rest of the world. It does not own a ton of shipping ; has 
no manufactures, few or no mechanics, and in fact produces little 
or nothing. It has three or four boarding-houses or taverns, 
which are supported by southern and northern visitors, the former 
coming in the summer, and the latter in winter. There is no 
back country ; few or no farms or plantations ; no mills, turn- 
pikes, plank roads, railroads, or canals. The country does not 
even produce sufficient for home consumption. There are no 
grasses for hay, no corn, none of the cereal grains ; and the whole 
product may be summed up in fish and oysters from the bays and 
ocean, wild fowl from the swamps, venison and turkeys from the 
woods ; dwarf cabbages, potatoes, cassava, arrow-root, and other 
esculents from the gardens ; sugar-cane and syrup from two or 
three small plantations, and sour oranges from every where. 
Their groceries, furniture, store goods, preserved meats, luxuries, 
hay, clothing, salt, corn, flour, and butter, are all imported ; and 
while there is a solitary printing-office, there is not a bookstore in 
the place. There is a custom-house, but no entries ; pilots, but 
no employment for them ; and cattle, but no pasture. There are 
two stage lines to Picolata, and, I believe, but one hack carriage, 
for which you pay higher than New-York prices. How then can 
the Minorcans be expected to be enterprising in this state of 
things? I am told that they are improving in this respect, how- 
ever ; and some of the young men now leave home for Savannah, 
and other southern cities, where they become excellent mechanics. 
But, notwithstanding the habitual stagnation of this venerable 
city, I have never seen a more happy or better community ; and 
no one can live among them, without becoming attached both to the 
place and the people. There is here no desperate struggle for 
wealth ; and none of the pulling and tearing, the jostling and 
struggling that are witnessed elsewhere. The quiet and content- 



A WINTER FEOM HOME. 21 

ment that are so generally perceptible, are the greatest recom- 
mendations to the stranger, who is fagged and wearied with the 
worldly struggle from which he has temporarily escaped. 

The general gOTcrnment has a small military force, and bar- 
racks, at the southern extremity of the town. There is a grave- 
yard attached, in which, among other mortuary testimonials, are 
monuments to Major Dade, officers, and men, who perished in an 
ambuscade in the last Seminole war. We found the officers 
agreeable and intelligent, and a great addition to the society of 
the place. Where the barracks now stand, was once a Spanish 
nunnery, and the Commandant, in setting out orange trees, disin- 
terred the remains of a female skeleton, which might once have 
been covered by the flesh and cuticle of the Lady Abbess herself, 
or of some withered nun, some youthful novice, or some humble 
servitor. But death is a grave jester, and makes sad havoc of 
pomp and wealth, soon reducing the rich and poor to a level, that 
even the wildest democracy shrinks from. The bones of the dead 
of Waterloo were imported into England to fructify the land, to 
give food to the living ; and Sir Francis Chantry was told by the 
sexton of a London churchyard, that when the bones accumulated 
too much, he threw them into the Thames. A sad commentary 
on all the petty littlenesses and small ambition of life. 

I may mention in this place that colds accompanied with sore 
throats have been common here this winter ; and several children 
have died from this cause. I have seen two funerals in one day. 
One, that of a child of Catholic parents. The coffin was of pine 
wood painted white, and the attendance was respectable. The 
other was that of an old negro named Jack. The coffin was black, 
and ornamented with brass nails. It was carried on a cart, pre- 
ceded by an old negro with a long crape weeper on his hat. 
The women, neatly dressed, with handkerchiefs on their heads, 
came immediately after the cart, and then the men followed. 
There were from sixty to eighty in the procession. Their coun- 
tenances were grave, and their deportment serious and becoming 
the solemn occasion. The deceased was a firm member of the 



22 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

Methodist Church, and although a slave all his life, a man of good 
conduct and character. Poor Jack now knows the great secret, 
and is probably better off than the millions who were indifferent 
to him in life. Like most negroes, he was susceptible of strong 
religious impressions ; and wherever I have been at the south. I 
am told that there are many good Christians among them. The 
negro has considerable enthusiasm, and when properly directed 
frequently evinces generous and noble traits of character. 

Our walks round the city frequently extended to a distance 
of several miles. There is no great variety, however, to tempt 
the pedestrian. They are limited to the Point, Beach, Jackson- 
ville, Fort Peyton, and Picolata road. There was much, however, 
to amuse an observant person. We frequently derived pleasure 
from watching the flight of a hawk ; in listening to .the note of 
the cat bird, here almost modulated into song ; watching the 
wren, who seemed to say, here too I am a stranger, and will meet 
you at the north next summer ; or in observing a flock of several 
thousand swallows gyrating in the air, and performing all their 
evolutions with military precision. We would sometimes walk 
along the sea wall, and watch the breaking of the water at its 
base ; or lean over the bridge which crosses the St. Sebastian's 
river to see the mullet or trout spring to the surface. We would 
sometimes extend our walk to a ruined plantation, which was 
broken up during the last Indian war. On one occasion I seated 
myself on the piazza of a deserted house, on the west side of the 
north branch, which had evidently once been a pretty residence. 
There were the remains of a neat gateway, green blinds, a gar- 
den, and some few ornamental trees. All was now desolation. 
Weeds encumbered the garden, and the cockspur and thistle 
grew in the paths. I sat on the piazza musing on the probable 
fortunes of the former proprietor. I heard his story afterwards. 
He was a respectable clergyman, poor, and out of health. Gene- 
ral Worth procured him a commission of chaplain in the army, 
and he accompanied him to Tampa Bay, where he subsequently 
died. Deserted houses are common in this part of East Florida, 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 23 

and most of the plantations that were established south of this 
city were destroyed by the Indians during the Seminole wars. 

The whole country is filled with Salamander hills, from two to 
three feet high, so called from the pouched rat, here denominated 
the Salamander, from the habit of running over the ground while 
still warm after a recent burning of the woods. Bartram says that 
the Vulture Aurea feeds on lizards, frogs, &c., which they find half 
roasted among the embers. This animal is the Pseudostoma Flori- 
dana ; the southern pouched rat, and a variety of the Pseudos- 
toma Bursar — the Guaffre of the Missouri, or Canada pouched rat 
The latter I have seen on the prairies of Illinois, where it is called 
Gauffre (Grophar). Unlike the Florida rat, it does not raise a hil- 
lock over its hole ; but it is also a nocturnal animal, and is seldom 
seen in the day time. There is a hard-shelled turtle in Florida 
called Gophar. which raises a hillock similar to that of the pouched 
rat ; and as the name appears to be popular, there is also a large 
Grophar snake, which, although of formidable size, is a species of 
the constrictor, and perfectly harmless. In travelling through 
Eastern and Middle Florida, we saw thousands of these salaman- 
der and turtle hillocks. 

One of the favorite amusements of this place is boating on the 
beautiful bay in front of the town. There are six Minorcan 
pilots who own a fine open row-boat, which can always be hired 
with a full complement of men for a trifling compensation. These 
pilots do not board vessels outside the bar, except in good weath- 
er, but stand on the beach making signals, which are generally 
understood. When a vessel is expected, and like angels' visits, they 
are few and far between, they stand on the sand hills looking out for 
her. I did not observe that they had a spy-glass with them, and 
as such an instrument is hardly requisite, they are probably not 
in possession of one. The boat generally in use on these waters 
is a canoe, built of cypress. There are several fine ones among 
them. They hold from three to twelve persons, and frequently 
carry a sail. The inhabitants manage them with great dexterity, 
and accidents seldom or never occur. The favorite resorts on 



24: A WINTER FROM HOME. 

these occasions are, the beach, which abounds with beautiful 
shells ; the light-house, at the mouth of the harbor ; the stone 
quarries on Anastasia Island ; the North and Mantanzas Rivers. 
There is some coarse pasturage on Anastasia Island, and you 
have a fine view of the city from it. It abounds with rattlesnakes, 
who are hybernating at this season of the year ; and the ponds 
are filled with alligators. Pic-nic parties to the beach are com- 
mon, and an occasional marooning expedition to Mantanzas, is 
very acceptable to sportsmen. 

Riding on horseback is a favorite amusement. The ponies 
that are used by the equestrians are brought to the doors of the 
hotels every fine day, and you pay fifty cents for a ride. If the 
riding is cheap, the horses are indifferent. They are larger than 
St. Bernard dogs, and are the most uncouth, shaggy little animals 
extant. They are kind and docile, and while perfectly ignorant 
of the existence of brush or curry-comb, a groom is to them an 
unknown existence. They are very hardy, however, and have 
great powers of endurance. Half-fed and ill-tended as they are, 
they will with ease travel from thirty to fifty miles a day, for 
several days successively. They rarely have shoes, which are 
hardly requisite in this sandy region. Their ordinary food is 
coarse grass and rushes ; and they exhibit a most remarkable 
contrast to the pampered horses of other places. Such as they 
are, however, they answer the purposes to which they are applied, 
and are remarkably well adapted to this country. 

The old Spanish fort of St. Marks is the largest lion in the 
place. We visited it of course, and found it greatly dilapidated. 
It is surrounded by a ditch which once extended to the St. Se- 
bastian River, and was the northern boundary of the city which at 
that time was protected by a wall. The posterns of the northern 
gate, which is a curiosity in its way, are still standing. The fort is 
n ow fronted by a water battery called Marion, which is equipped with 
Paixhan guns, and completely commands the harbor. We saw the 
famous walled-up cell in which a human skeleton was found, and 
the narrow window from which Wild-cat and his men are said to 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 25 

have escaped. If they ever got through this narrow aperture, 
they must have had considerable gutta pcrcha in their formation ; 
but unhappily for the story, there is a door opposite to the win- 
dow, which, when guarded by a negligent sentinel, afforded an 
easy egress. 

The sportsman is enabled to amuse himself in the vicinity of 
this place to a greater extent than with us. There is good fish- 
ing in the Sebastian river and bay. The fish principally taken 
are the mullet, sea trout, sheeps-head and drum. These are in- 
different fish, with the exception of the sheeps-head, which is so 
well known in our markets. There are several other varieties, 
which afford amusement to the angler. The fresh water trout is 
a stranger in the southern streams, but there is a very fine fish of 
the same name but of much larger size and different shape, taken 
in the River St. John's, and elsewhere, which is delicate and pal- 
atable. A few miles from the town the gunning and hunting are 
good. Quails, deer, water fowl and wild turkeys are abundant ; 
numerous bevies of the former are found in the pine barrens, and 
the birds at this season of the year are in fine condition. The 
English snipe is occasionally seen, but it is not numerous, and I saw 
but one woodcock during the whole time that I was here, although 
this delicious bird is frequently found at Lake Jackson and other 
places in middle Florida. The wild pigeon is rare, as it seldom 
extends its migration so far south. It is customary in deer hunt- 
ing to encamp in the woods, and the Florida hunter always takes 
his coffee-pot with him in preference to the brandy bottle, as the 
climate is unfavorable to the free use of ardent spirits. Coffee 
is universally drank, and it is a sufficient stimulant in this 
delightful country. Parties are sometimes formed for hunting 
and fishing at Mantanzas, and the sportsman is generally well 
rewarded for his trouble. In the immediate vicinity of the town 
there is little to reward the gunner. Every Minorcan lad carries 
a gun, and what little game there is, is rendered wild by their 
constant pursuit. Dove shooting is their favorite sport, and they 
frequently bring them to town by dozens for sale. They are very 



26 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

good eating, and about as large as the wild pigeon. On one oc- 
casion, while on a hunting expedition, a lad who accompanied us, 
exhibited his leg, which had been bit by an alligator which was 
lying by the path that he was passing along. It was horribly 
scarred. This is a rare circumstance, as an alligator seldom at- 
tacks a person in the water, and this is the only instance in which 
it has ever been known to have occurred on the land. It is supposed 
that the boy must have trod upon its head in passing through the 
palmettos. He was caught by the ankle, but succeeded in wrench- 
ing it out of the creature's mouth. His brother, who was on 
horseback, hearing his outcries, rode up and shot it. It was about 
twelve feet long. The wound was cured by dressings of salve, 
without calling in a physician. The alligator is a great destroyer 
of dogs, and old hounds always refuse to take to the water which 
they are known to frequent. Their principal food is fish, which 
they take in great numbers. Bartram describes a terrific conflict 
that he had with them at the mouth of Lake Monroe, on the St. 
John's, but they were evidently in pursuit of the fish with which 
he had nearly filled his canoe, without any desire to feast on our 
friend, the botanist. 

While here, we had frequent rumors of another Indian war, 
undoubtedly got up by timid or interested persons. An Indian 
war, with its attendant disbursements, would be a God-send to 
some of these people. By this remark, I do not intend the in- 
dustrious, well-doing and respectable portion of the community, 
who always deprecate excitement and change. But in every 
place there are shiftless, restless and idle persons, who live by 
agitation, and having nothing to lose, are reckless of consequen- 
ces. The Fillibusters of the South, and the Interventionists of 
the North, come within this category. This portion of Florida is 
certainly poor, and although there are individual instances of 
wealth, the mass are in moderate circumstances. The people 
here certainly made a great mistake when they knocked at the 
door of the Union for admission as a State. They now have to 
pay all their own expenses, which formerly came from the ample 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 27 

jDOcket of Uncle Sam. Their local or town taxes, and particu- 
larly the road tax, are considerable. It is due, however to the 
people of Florida, that the Indians should be removed from their 
limits. They are worthless vagrants, and occupy some of the 
best lands. Settlement is rapidly approaching their boundary, 
and nothing can prevent collision with the whites, but the prompt 
action of the general government. It is to be hoped that an ami- 
cable arrangement with them will soon be effected. 

The bulk of the visitors here are from New-England and 
New-York. They are generally afflicted with pulmonary affec- 
tions. They are not all the most pleasant fellow-boarders : their 
appetites are excessive, and when the bell announces dinner, they 
rush to the table and perform wonderful trencher feats. This 
appetite is undoubtedly a part of their disease. You hear the 
funereal cough all over the house, and in the parlor they loll at 
full length on the sofas, and expectorate almost constantly. They 
are very apt to be argumentative and disputatious, and it is re- 
ally painful to witness the sad exhibitions of bodily and mental 
decadence. On the other hand, there are many agreeable and well- 
informed persons among them, whose conduct secures your friend- 
ship, and whose sufferings enlist your warmest sympathies. But 
notwithstanding, every public house is, to a certain extent, a 
hospital, and whenever you walk the streets you meet some suf- 
ferer, whose wasted form and feeble gait proclaim the victim of 
consumption. 

The society of the place is delightful. The principal fami- 
lies are from the North and the older Southern States. There 
are also one or two of Spanish or English descent. In addition 
there are the army officers, who are generally educated and ac- 
complished persons. The circle is small, but any respectable 
stranger who is properly introduced, never regrets his admission 
into it. There are no public amusements, except a nine-pin alley, 
recently erected by one of the most respectable gentlemen in the 
place, whose kindness and hospitality are only exceeded by his 
intelligence and enterprise. There are some highly refined fami- 



28 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

lies, and they entertain frequently and liberally. The great 
charm of society, however, is the entire absence of pretence, and 
the genuine kindness and unaffected good feeling with which you 
are received. There is no evidence of the parvenuism which is 
so common in the commercial towns, and there is too much real 
gentility for the existence of an upper-tendom. Every one 
dresses well, behaves well, and dances well. Here, as throughout 
the South, ladies are treated with great deference and respect ; 
and some of our young fashionables would soon have the alter- 
native of changing their deportment in this particular, or sub- 
mitting to a social ostracism. Card j^laying and dancing are the 
principal amusements. The favorite game is Ucer ; but gam- 
bling at private houses appears to be interdicted by general con- 
sent. Dancing is indulged in by persons of all ages, and I have 
seen venerable devotees of Terpsichore, seated in the chair in 
the German cotillion, nor was there any thing offensive or dis- 
pleasing in this, as it evidenced a cheerful and happy temperament, 
rather than a frivolous and idle disposition. The invitations are 
verbal, and at short notice, the hours seasonable, and your wel- 
come cordial. "VVe enjoyed these meetings very much, and al- 
though well acquainted with the sayings and doings of the upper- 
ten in New-York, thought them more pleasant than Brown's as- 
semblages and Weller's suppers. The society is small, as this 
ancient city is a mere village ; but take it all in all, it is more pleas- 
ing and more refined — less ostentatious and less heartless, than 
the curious melange called fashionable society, in our great com- 
mercial emporium. In addition to the ordinary parties, we had 
an occasional masquerade, and I never saw this thing carried off 
with more spirit and effect. The masqueraders would assemble 
at a particular house, and after visiting the principal families, 
meet the ladies at some designated residence, and wind up the 
evening with several hours of dancing. These things were gene- 
rally off-hand and with little previous concert. On one occasion, 
we had a ladies' fair for the benefit of the Episcopal Church, 
which was numerously attended. The refreshment table was 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 29 

liberally patronized, and there was the usual rich display of cheap 
toys, dressed dolls, pin cushions, and other small trifles. There 
was Marcellini, the Orpheus of the place, with his two sable at- 
tendants, with violin and tambourine. This music is highly re- 
spectable, and I have often listened to it at night, with great sat- 
isfaction. There was the usual amount of noise and hubbub — 
smiles and gossip. There, as in other public places. Daphne fled 
and Apollo pursued ; and now reversing the heathen mythology, 
our whiskered and moustached Apollo endeavored to escape from 
some smiling Daphne. 

One word in regard to the negroes of this place, and we have 
done. As far as my observation extends, they are perfectly 
happy and contented, and are treated with great kindness. Hard 
masters are rare, and are held in great disrespect. They are a 
careless, thoughtless race ; and whatever they are elsewhere, are 
here a species of Lazzaroni — idling as much and working as 
little as possible. They sometimes accumulate considerable pro- 
perty ; and one was pointed out to me in the street who was said 
to be worth one thousand dollars. They are fat and sleek ; well 
fed and well dressed ; play much and work little. They are al- 
ways cheerful and contented, and are better off", in many respects, 
than the poor white laborer of the north. Dining with a friend 
one day, a favorite servant, accompanied by another, came into 
the room, and danced and sung for about half an hour. He was 
then called into the parlor, and received a present from his mis- 
tress. The Christie imitation of negro dancing and singing is 
tolerable ; but, like all imitations, somewhat of a caricature. 
Another gentleman in the place has a slave in his store, who at- 
tends to the retail business and has charge of the money drawer. 
He is a devout Methodist, and a man of exemplary character. 
The ladies on plantations are said to be slaves to their slaves. 
I asked the wife of a respectable planter whether this was true, 
as stated by Miss Martineau ? She replied, that she was com- 
pelled to take care of their slaves ; superintend their comforts ; 
make their clothes ; administer their medicine, and tend them 



30 A WINTER FROM IJOME. 

when sick. The negro is a thriftless and helpless animal ; and 
one white man will perform more labor than three of them. 
There is no romance in plantation life : it is a dull, sad reality. 

Southern wealth is. generally, over- estimated. There are, 
doubtless, many rich planters: but the majority are in moderate 
circumstances. Slave labor can never compete with free ; and 
the peculiar institutions of the south are not, in my opinion, 
conducive either to the happiness or prosperity of the whites. 
But it is for them, and not for us, to decide in this matter. They 
have constitutional rights, which we are bound to respect; and 
when we cease to do so, they will be perfectly justified in aban- 
doning the confederacy. But, in good time, they will, if left 
alone, dispense with the Institution of Slavery. Abolitionism 
only postpones emancipation. Without it, Delaware, Maryland, 
Kentucky, and probably Virginia, would now have been free 
States. As far as my observation has extended, the masters are 
kind and indulgent ; and I am satisfied that most of the slaves, 
at the south, are better ofi" than the free blacks at the north. 
It is a question whether many of them are not better ofi" than 
their masters, who are compelled to take care of them in sick- 
ness, in childhood, and in old age. On every plantation there 
are a number of useless hands, who must be supported by the 
owners. Slave property is not, generally, a good investment ; 
and Government securities, or six per cent, mortgages, will pay 
better in the long run. What will eventually be done with this 
race is a problem for future solution. They degenerate rapidly 
at the north ; and some free States have interdicted their set- 
tlement within their borders. Immediate emancipation would 
be destructive to the south ; the idea of practical amalgamation 
is disgusting , and colonization appears to be the only remedy, 
but how, and ivhere^ and when, are the grave answers to this pro- 
position. One thing, however, is certain, that if the extreme 
Abolitionists can carry out their views, one of three results 
must soon follow ; a severance of the Union — a depopulation of 
the slave States — or a war of races, which will end in the exter- 
mination of the blacks. 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 31 

In the latter part of January, we left St. Augustine with 
great regret, leaving many friends behind us, from whom we 
parted with reluctance and with the warmest wishes for their 
uniform happiness and prosperity. 

Palatka is a small settlement on the tide waters of the St. 
John's. It was built up during the Seminole Wars, but is now 
decayed and without much business. It is a beautiful locality, 
and, in time, will become a place of some importance. Square- 
rigged vessels come to the wharves, and it is the terminus of 
steam navigation, with the exception of small vessels of this 
description, which proceed as far as Enterprise. It is much re- 
sorted to by invalids, and there are two excellent boarding- 
houses, but the accommodation is not sufficient : and if a good 
hotel was erected it would be crowded during the winter months. 
A hotel could be better supplied here than at St. Augustine, 
having a direct and frequent communication with Savannah, from 
whence marketing, groceries, and the great essential of ice could 
be readily obtained. A good physician at this place is a great 
desideratum, and if some respectable member of that profession 
would take up his residence here, he would be liberally patron- 
ized. There is a beautiful orange grove in the immediate vici- 
nity of the village, and the river affords fine boating ; while the 
scenery is pleasing and agreeable. We saw very few houses, and 
only one or two plantations, on the banks of the river, in voy- 
aging from Picolata to this spot. The stream still continues 
wide, but the banks are, generally, low ; and long points of land 
frequently project far out, rendering the navigation somewhat 
tedious. We did not visit Lake Monroe, but were told that it 
was a beautiful spot, somewhat frequented by strangers, but 
with insufficient accommodations. A small steamer visits it 
once a week, but the most desirable mode of reaching it, by per- 
sons travelling for pleasure, is to take an open boat, well provi- 
sioned, and properly manned, and encamp at night on the 
shores. By travelling in this mode, you can proceed to other 
lakes beyond Monroe ; and if partial to fishing and gunning, 
you will have ample amusement on your voyage. 



82 A WINTER FEOM HOME. 

Orange Spring is about thirty miles from Pilatka. Tlie pro- 
prietor has erected a large frame house for the accommodation of 
visitors, and is a very kind and obliging person. He keeps a good 
house, and an unexceptionable table. He is in easy circum- 
stances ; has a farm ; cotton gin, country store, and several ne- 
groes, who are well treated and apparently much attached to their 
master. He took us to see the spring, which is white sulphur, of 
about thirty feet in diameter, and fifteen deep. The temperature 
of the water is 72®, and affords delightful bathing at all seasons 
of the year. The house is sequestered ; and is placed in a beauti- 
ful grove, which is filled with the gopher hillocks. It is on the 
stage road from Pilatka to Otkala, and stages pass two or three 
times a week. 

After leaving Orange Spring we travelled through a wild 
country, passing several large ponds and lakes on our route, 
and not seeing more than four or five houses in a day's ride. 
These lakes are extremely beautiful, and some are perfectly 
round, with hard sandy shores. We saw quantities of wild fowl 
swimming in their pellucid waters. Lime-sinks are also commoti 
in this country, and we passed one every few miles for several 
successive days. 

We stopped at a log house for the night, and dined on " hog 
and hominy," with a sugarless cup of coffee. There was neither 
bread, butter, nor milk in the house, although our landlord has 
several hundred head of cattle running about the woods. The 
cattle ranges in this country are extensive, most of the government 
land not yet having been entered, and the farms being at long 
intervals apart. Our landlord has a small plantation, a cotton gin, 
and fourteen negroes. We found him on our arrival engaged in 
arresting a wood fire which threatened his fences. In the even- 
ing our landlady furnished us with fresh bread and a good sup- 
per ; and while conversing with the family before a monstrous 
wood fire, their nearest neighbor, living some miles off, rode up 
on horseback, with a stick of light-wood in his hand, to ask for 
neighborly assistance in some difficulty. The night was exceed- 



A wintp:r from home. 33 

ingly dark, and the effect of the lighted brand upon the rider's 
face was curious ; half being lighted up, and half hidden. I after- 
wards accompanied my host to cut down a burning tree which 
he feared might in falling extend the fire over his plantation. 
The light-wood, a resinous pine, is a great blessing in this coun- 
try. I frequently made my fire by applying the flame of the 
candle to it. The woods are full of it, and it costs nothing but 
the trouble of cutting and hauling. The logs encumber the 
roads, compelling frequent detours to avoid them ; the branch- 
less and broken trees meet the eye in every direction ; and when 
the woods are on fire, the turpentine burns with great violence, 
the flame sometimes jetting from the top of the trunk, and con- 
verting it into a gigantic candlestick. We sat by the fire until a 
late hour, conversing with our friendly entertainers, and found 
them possessed of good sense, but entirely ignorant of the busy 
world. They had never seen a turnpike, canal, railroad, or 
steamboat. They had heard of Washington, and other great 
men, but never of our northern millionaires — thereby justifying 
the conclusion that an honorable fame is more desirable than the 
mere acquisition of wealth. They knew nothing about the 
north, but had understood that the northerners intended to free 
all the slaves. They were quite happy when I told them that it 
was not in their power to do so even if they had the inclination. 
In these out places they have preaching from circuit riders of 
the Methodist Church once a fortnight. They are generally 
Baptists and Methodists, and are a good moral people. In all 
my intercourse with them I found them uniformly kind and 
obliging. Our log hut was situated in a primeval pine forest ; 
and nothing can be more composing to a worldly mind than a 
night passed in the seclusion of a forest cabin, with the bright 
stars filling the heavens and the sad wind moaning through the 
tall trees. On retiring to bed, I endeavored to recall the inci- 
dents of the da3^ but was soon lulled to sleep by the soughing of 
the wind, which reminds one of the distant roaring of the ocean. 
This moaning of the wind is not describable in any other way, 
2* 



34 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

and is a melancholy and solemn sound. On the following morn- 
ing we took an early breakfast with the family, and, with our 
dinner — consisting, among other things, of hard boiled eggs and 
broiled chickens, which our landlady had cooked for us by spe- 
cial request — we started on our journey. 

It was one of our mild October days, during the Indian 
summer at the north. The road was hard and entirely free from 
stone. It passed through primeval pine forests, with the ex- 
ception of the last few miles, where we met with the black Jack 
and occasional patches of hammock land. We took our dinner 
seated on a log, by a clear spring, and thought of our friends at 
home, who were enduring all the rigors of a northern winter. 
There were large numbers of cattle pasturing in the wood, which 
are taxed three dollars, and can be purchased for from four to 
five dollars each. The road is little travelled, and the houses at 
long intervals apart. We saw but four during the day ; and the 
good woman, at one where we stopped to water our horses, sent 
out a quantity of sugar-cane to my companion. During the day 
we passed a large fire in the woods, which extended for several 
miles and had crossed four or five miles of our road. In one 
place it approached us with great rapidity, with a noise resem- 
bling platoon-firing — occasioned by the disengagement of the 
gases in the wood. The atmosphere was darkened by the 
smoke ; and logs and trees were burning near the road. These 
fires are very frequent, but seldom interrupt travelling. They 
are often occasioned by the carelessness of travelling parties in 
not extinquishing the fires of their encampment. Late in the 
afternoon we reached Newmansville, a small village, with a 
wooden court-house and several stores. A stage passes through 
here once a week, from Ocala to Alligator, connecting Avith the 
stage from Jacksonville to Talahassee. We found comfortable 
accommodations at a country tavern, and met with some agree- 
able persons who had resided for some years in this remote place. 

The following night we lodged at Alligator, thirty-four miles 
distant, We took our dinner with us, and pick-nicked on the 



A WINTER FROM HOME. S6 

road as usual. The road was good, and through pine forests ; and 
the houses few and far apart. During the day we passed the 
natural bridge, where the river passes under the road. We 
stopped at a comfortable house, and had the usual supper of ham 
and hominy. Milk was scarce, and the butter poor ; and there 
was but one sheet on each bed. There are several ancient tumuli 
in the vicinity of this place which are supposed to be the remains 
of forts erected by De Soto, who is conjectured to have passed 
through this part of the country on his route to the Mississippi. 
The village itself is on a sandy plain, and is a very meagre- 
looking place. 

The following day we proceeded to Suwannee Springs, and 
stopped at Mr. Tresvant's, where we found excellent accommo- 
dations. This is a fashionable watering-place for the Floridians 
in summer ; and the river Suwannee is within one hundred 
yards of the house. It is a clear, rapid stream, with bold rocky 
banks. The spring is white sulphur, immediately on the mar- 
gin of the river. The path to it is precipitous ; and there is a 
wooden machine to lower visitors, if too indolent to walk. 
There are good arrangements for swimming and shower baths ; 
and I should suppose that a few weeks might be passed com- 
fortably here. There is some fishing ; and wild turkeys and 
deer are numerous. 

Leaving this place with reluctance, we dined next day at Co- 
lumbus — a mere apology for a village — and crossed the Suwan- 
nee, on a wooden bridge, into Middle Florida. This river runs 
parallel with the St. John's, but in an opposite direction — one of 
the many singularities of this strange country. "We rode 
eighteen miles through the pine forest to Madison Court-house 
without seeing a house or meeting a traveller. With the excep- 
tion of some wild cattle, an occasional squirrel, and a few hawks, 
we did not meet a living thing on our route. There were nume- 
rous lime sinks in the vicinity of tlie road, in some instances 
with the tops of the trees on a level with the surface of the 
ground. We did not meet with a drop of water in all this dis- 



36 A WINTEli FROM HOME. 

tance. This is tlie neatest village that we have yet seen in Flo- 
rida ; but the hotel is not as good as it ought to be. There are 
about four hundred inhabitants, several churches, a fine livery 
stable, a court-house, and an academy with sixty-one scholars ; and 
they are now building a cotton factory and steam saw-mill. 
After rising from an exceedingly indifferent table. I retired to 
the parlor, and made an unsuccessful attempt at conversation 
with three travellers whom I found there. All I could learn 
from them was, that one was unwell and expectorated constantly. 
Another told me that it was "a fine winter to save hogs ;" and 
the third had a cold, and said that he felt •' mighty bad." I re- 
tired at an early hour to a most uncomfortable dormitory, and 
thought of dinners at home, and the many comforts of the north. 

We continued our journey at the earliest opportunity, and 
found the roads generally good, although sandy in spots. We 
saw several bevies of quails, and a drove of wild turkeys within 
half gun-shot. Saw a few sheep in an adjoining field — the first 
that I have met with in Florida. Passed through Monticello — 
a handsome and flourishing village. It has three churches ; and 
several stores and taverns. We met a New-York circus com- 
pany here ; and the streets were crowded with people in various 
vehicles and on horseback. We saw several parties of emi- 
grants from the Carolinas and Georgia to East Florida : and as 
we passed their encampment by the roadside, at night, the efi"ect 
was quite picturesque — the people being grouped round the fires, 
while their animals were dimly seen feeding in the vicinity. 

At Talahassee, our kind friends had made arrangements for 
our accommodation, which was particularly grateful after a long 
ride. We remained here for some time, and were amply com- 
pensated for our visit. It is the capital of the State ; and, ac- 
cording to Oglethorpe, Talahassee, in the Indian language, means 
a country bare of trees. The country in this section of Florida 
was once more generally settled than at present, as is evidenced 
by the remains of numerous forts and stations. As you ap- 
proach it from Eastern Florida, the trees are evidently of se- 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 37 

coudary growth — the primeval forest not extending far beyond 
Nunensville. The white population of Florida, at present, does 
not much exceed fifty thousand ; and many of the Government 
lands are not yet entered. The emigration to this State is now 
considerable : and there are large tracts of valuable cotton and 
sugar lands which will soon be taken up. The tide of emi- 
gration at present tends to the southern portion of Eastern 
Florida ; but the valuable lands on the coast and on the Su- 
wannee and Ocilla Rivers, must soon come into requisition. 

There is considerable wealth here ; and the principal inhabit- 
ants live handsomely. You see neat equipages in the streets as 
in other wealthy communities. We enjoyed the intercourse of 
a refined and intellectual circle, and always found the conversa- 
tion of a higher and better tone than among certain fashionables 
in our own great Bab34on. The planters generally reside in the 
city, preferring the social intercourse of the latter to the dull 
monotony of a plantation life ; and it is this preference which 
renders their society so agreeable. The want of a good hotel is 
sensibly felt by strangers ; and a building of this description 
would be a great inducement to them to visit here in the winter. 
A tontine has been proposed by some very respectable gentlemen, 
and it is possible that the proposition may be favorably enter- 
tained. 

There are many pleasant walks and rides in the vicinity of 
the town, and you are repaid for your exertions by the various 
objects that meet* your eye. There are many beautiful birds 
and flowers to occupy your attention ; the paroquet among the 
former, and among the latter the flowering apple and fragrant 
yellow jessamine. The live oaks, at a distance, resemble apple 
trees ; and I sometimes mistook them for apple orchards. I was 
told that strangers frequently fall into the like error. The bam- 
boo vine grows to a great length. The leaf is beautiful ; and I 
was informed that they decorated the Episcopal Church with it 
last Christmas. The red clover does not thrive in Florida, and 
the crowfoot is the best grass of the country. The Governor, 



88 A WINTEE FROM HOME. 

who is a public-spirited and intelligent gentleman, Las procured 
a quantity of the Chili grass seed, which he is distributing. It 
is said to be well adapted to this climate, and to grow luxu- 
riantly. It is also represented to be sweet and nutricious, and 
to afford several cuttings in a season. If all this is true, it will 
be of inestimable value to the Southern States. Florida would 
then become a grazing country ; and when she comes to partici- 
pate in the system of internal improvements so generally 
adopted, she will exchange her herds and flocks for the luxuries 
of the North. 

Many of the inhabitants are partial to horticultural pursuits. 
The fig grows in abundance ; the sweet orange succeeds with a 
little care ; and the grape is successfully cultivated. Under 
glass, and with natural heat, almost any of the exotics, I have 
no doubt, would thrive. The peach is said to be delicious, and 
the crab apple grows wild in the woods. It is supposed that the 
cherry and apple will not succeed here. The gardens furnish 
celery, cabbage, sweet and common potatoes, peas, beans, and 
many of the northern roots. Strawberries grow in profusion, 
with a little care : but the gooseberry and currant do not succeed. 
There is a wild plum here which is now in blossom ; and the 
mistletoe bough is often seen growing on some dead tree — the 
only green thing about it. 

The meats of this country are not as good as with us, but I 
have seen beef on the table which would not discredit the pas- 
tures of the Schuylkill. On the other hand, the poultry is ex- 
cellent ; and a Florida turkey cannot be surpassed — it is far su- 
perior to the turkeys of Rhode Island. Oysters are abundant ; 
and the red-fish grouper and trout would command a high price 
in our markets. Wild fowl are numerous, and venison cheap 
and abundant. 

The life of a planter is dull and monotonous, and not gene- 
rally acceptable to the ladies of the family. In tliis country, 
however, it is an exceedingly independent mode of existence. 
He generally cultivates his own corn, tobacco and oats ; he raises 



A WINTER FROU HOME, 89 

his own mecats and poultry ; every stream is full of fish, game is 
in profusion, and on almost every plantation there is a cane and 
rice patch for home consumption. The country houses are com- 
fortable and well furnished, and the domestics much superior to 
ours. The gopher turtle makes a delicious soup, and the country 
is blistered with its hills. Sweet oranges are easily cultivated, 
and I saw one tree in a garden, which was ^o loaded with fruit, 
that they were compelled to prop it up, as they frequently do the 
peach with us. The wolf is not often seen, having been thinned 
oflf by strychnine. The bear is frequently captured and deer are 
common. The opossum, racoon, hare, squirrel, grey fox, and wild 
and tiger cats exist in great numbers ; and the panther is occa- 
sionally shot ; wild ducks, brandt, snipes and curlew frequent the 
ponds and marshes, and the quail is found in every field. Many 
of the latter birds are destroyed by the hawks, which are nume- 
rous in this country. The wild turkey is taken in great numbers. 
They are' captured in square pens, constructed of rails, with 
boards laid over the top ; a passage way is dug under the lower 
rail, for their admission, which is baited with corn ; the turkey 
enters without difficulty, but never attempts to escape at the same 
door at which he entered ; his captor crawls in at the hole and 
takes him alive, and the poor turkey is the victim of his own 
greediness — like many speculators, who easily get into a difficulty, 
without knowing how to extricate themselves, A more indepen- 
dent life than that of a planter, who is a just and humane man, and 
out of debt, I cannot ilnagine. If slavery is an evil in this section 
of the country, (which I do not believe.) he can do much good 
and contribute essentially to the happiness of his people. Cruel 
masters are rare, and are not only amenable to the law, but are 
also socially ostracised. The negro, as far as I have seen him at 
the South, is contented and happy — not overworked, and taken 
care of in sickness and old age. At the North the free negro 
rapidly degenerates, and is generally a shiftless and unhappy 
creature. 

The cotton from this section of the country is generally car- 



40 A WINTER FROM JIOME. 

ried by railroad to St. Marks, or by wagon to Newport, where it 
is shipped. The railroad is an indifferent one, and the cars are 
drawn by mules, an animal in general use for draft and field labor. 
The railroad is laid with flat iron, and is in a very imperfect state. 
There is one train each way, six times every week, carrying about 
two hundred bales of cotton, and at the rate of four miles an 
hour. They bring back hay, salt, and fire brick from New York, 
and oats, bacon and flour from New-Orleans. They also bring 
considerable quantities of miscellaneous articles from both places. 
An attempt is making in Congress to obtain a grant for a ship 
canal over the southern part of Florida, which will be of great 
value to our shipping houses engaged in the New-Orleans and 
Mobile trade, and of great importance to the eastern underwri- 
ters. A charter has also been obtained for a railroad from the 
Legislature of Florida, to connect the waters of the Alantic with 
the Gulf of Mexico, and when this is accomplished, it is estima- 
ted that the time between New-York and New-Orleans will be re- 
duced to less than four days. When this time arrives, Florida 
will advance with great rapidity, and her valuable pine lands will 
immediately engage the attention of northern capitalists. This 
beautiful country requires these and similar commercial facilities, 
and when she receives them, nothing will remain to retard her 
rapid advancement. 

Our time in Talahassee was too short to enable us to see 
many of the curiosities of the country ; and among others, the 
Wakulla Spring, which it was almost inexcusable to neglect. It 
was a day's work, however, and our time was so fully occupied, 
that we had not that day to spare. It has often been described, 
and a repeated description is generally a great infliction. 

We travelled by stage from this city to Oglethorpe, in G-eor- 
gia, to which place a railroad is proposed. We had good stages, 
horses and drivers, and after travelling all night, breakfasted at 
the Georgia Hotel, in Thomasville, a petty inn, with a high 
sounding name, where we had a most unpalatable meal. At night 
we crossed the Flint River in a rope scow, and stopped to sleep 
at Albany. 



A WINTER FEOM HOME. 41 

The uext day, after passing through Americus, we reached 
Oglethorpe, where we took the railroad to the beautiful town of 
Macon. We stopped at Leneer's, which has the reputation of 
being the best public house in the State of Georgia. We trav- 
elled through an uninteresting country, with a sparse popula- 
tion and indifferent public houses. The stage was overcrowded, 
the weather cold, and sleep was a stranger to our eyelids. The 
better route would probably have been through Quincy to the 
Chatahoochee Kiver and thence by steamboat to Columbus. 

We travelled by railroad from Macon, through Atalanta to 
Nunen, and thence by stage over an indifferent road, fifty-five 
miles, to West Point, where we took another railroad to Mont- 
gomery in Alabama. A railroad charter has been obtained from 
Nunen to La Grange, and the road will soon be constructed, 
leaving a gap of seventeen miles from the latter place to West 
Point, not provided for. The towns of La Grange and West 
Point are said to be opposed to making this short distance of 
road, erroneously thinking that their interests would be injured 
thereby. Local interests should never be allowed to interfere 
with the general welfare, and this opposition should be disregarded, 
as this is one of the principal thoroughfares of the country, being 
the great Southern route from New-Orleans to New-York. 

We found an excellent hotel in Montgomery, which is a hand- 
some town, the seat of government of Alabama, and a great cot- 
ton depot. The Capitol is a beautiful building, situated on an 
eminence, commanding the town and river. The streets are 
planked in the middle, with paved sidewalks, and were crowded 
with a busy and active population. 

We passed down the Alabama River in a fine steamer, in 
company of some fifty passengers, and a cargo of two thousand 
bales of cotton. The lower and upper decks, the guards, and 
even the hurricane deck, were crowded with cotton. Light and 
air were almost excluded, and nothing was to be seen from the 
vessel but high bluffs and the blue sky. Life preservers were 
hung up in every state room, which might afford a shadowy chance 



42 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

of escape, in the event of the boat taking fire from her combus- 
tible freight. This, however, is the only mode of travelling on 
this river, and singular as it may appear, accidents are not 
frequent. 

There is nothing attractive in the aspect of Mobile, the prin- 
cipal inhabitants having residences in the vicinity of the city. 
The people, however, are active and intelligent, and have adopted 
a system of railroad improvement, which will greatly advance 
their interests at the expense of New-Orleans. As there was no 
good hotel in the place, we left as soon as possible, in the Florida, 
a beautiful New-York built steamboat, and the next morning 
found ourselves in New- Orleans. 

AYe soon exhausted this place. It was the season of Lent, and 
the Mardi Gras was celebrated during our stay, very much re- 
sembling a parade of militia fantasticals with us. The levee is 
well worth visiting, and so great a collection of steamers was pro- 
bably never before dreamed of by a northerner. We listened to 
an excellent company at the French opera, rode out on the shell 
and gulf roads, visited the market, witnessed the celebration of 
Washington's birth-day, attended a ball at the hotel, shopped for 
amusement, lounged at the cafes, dropped in at the theatres, and 
saw the grave-yards. The weather was exceeding close and sultry. 
It was hot in the house, and in the streets ; and the whole popu- 
lation, native and foreign, resident and visitor, was in a constant 
and profuse perspiration. 

We were nine days travelling from New- Orleans to St. Louis ; 
and up to Memphis found the navigation pleasant. The peach 
tree was in blossom, and the birds were singing in the woods. 
The most conspicuous object at Memphis was a brick building, 
with a very large sign, bearing this disgusting inscription : — 
"Bolton, Dickens & Co. Slave- dealers." It is proper to observe 
here, that no persons are held in greater contempt at the south 
than professional slave-dealers. They are not admitted into res- 
pectable society, and the woman who marries one of them, no 
matter how respectable she may heretofore have been, immediately 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 48 

loses caste. From this point the river becomes dreary and mo- 
notonous, and a voyage on the lower Mississippi will seldom be 
repeated by those who can avoid it. 

While at St. Louis we visited the Exchange, some of the public 
buildings, and severalof the Missouri river steamboats. One in par- 
ticular, the Ellen Jewett, was remarkable for its finish and beauty. 
The cabins were elegantly furnished, and the state rooms as com- 
fortable as possible. In the ladies' cabin there was a rose-wood 
piano, with accompanying music ; gilded chandeliers, atlases and 
books in profusion, sofas, lounges, cushioned chairs, fine carpets, 
and a handsome table service. She compared favorably with the 
finest eastern boats. In selecting a boat for these western waters, 
you must be governed by the character of the captain. Steam- 
boat accidents are of frequent occurrence, and while we were in 
this country, there were some of the most terrific description. 
They are generally the result of the carelessness or recklessness 
of the oflScers. Fogs, on the lower river, are frequently the cause 
of disaster, by bringing boats into collision, or causing them to 
founder by coming in contact with some snag, which the pilot is 
unable to see. It is not always the finest boat that is the most safe, 
nor is the most polite and gentlemanly captain always the most 
desirable. The clerks are generally well-informed and agreeable 
persons, and it is their business to dispense the civilities, while 
the captain attends to the safety of the boat. A gallant com- 
mander, who is constantly dancing attendance on the ladies, saun- 
tering about the cabin, and drinking his wine at table, instead of 
being on the deck or with the pilot, watching his boat, had, as a 
general rule, better be avoided. The less you see of your captain 
during your voyage the better for you. We were always governed 
by the advice of our friends in selecting a boat, and did not en- 
counter the slightest accident on our route. We did not meet 
with a captain or clerk who indulged in sipping his wine, or was 
ever seen at the bar-room ; and in some boats this latter appen- 
dage did not exist. The sooner these floating groggCx-ies are 
dispensed with the better, as few persons require them, and those 



44 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

who do. cannot be seriously injured by a compulsory abstinence 
of a few hours, or days at most. In fact, excessive drinking is 
rarely to be witnessed among travellers in this country, and we 
saw but three drunken persons during our absence — one in 
Florida, one in the railroad car in G-eorgia, and one on the Upper 
Mississippi ; and this is the blessed result of the temperance 
movement, exerting the influence of persuasion and example, with- 
out the aid of stringent and severe legislation. 

While in this city, we found considerable excitement existing 
in consequence of the presence of the Hungarian, Kossuth. The 
people were, to a certain extent, divided in opinion in reference 
to him ; and, with the exception of some busy politicians, his 
warmest admirers appeared to be Germans, who had not been long 
in the country. He was very busy making speeches and selling 
bonds, and I was surprised to learn that the presentation of a 
bond at the door, was necessary to admit his hearers. I did not 
converse with a respectable person, from Florida to Minnesota, who 
advocated his doctrine of intervention. His splendid declamation 
attracted general attention, as any other novelty would have done. 
Political agitators, theatrical novelties, and strange exhibitions, 
will always attract crowds in this country. Calvin Edson, Joice 
Heth. the woolly horse, Celeste the dancer, and Jenny Lind the 
singer, were followed by crowds, until some fresher novelty suc- 
ceeded them. I could not but contrast the state in which this 
man travelled, with his attendant guards, with the simple progress 
of La Fayette, the nation's guest, and his superior in all that con- 
stitutes the really good and great man. Kossuth is a splendid 
declaimer, but also a mere political mendicant, and the advocate 
of the most wicked and mischievous doctrine of intervention. He 
seems by his precipitate flight from Hungary, to have lacked the 
first qualification of a rebel, which is to despise life, and when he 
fled from his country, he completely demoralized the attempted 
revolution. His cause was undoubtedly just, but seems to have 
been most unfortunate in a leader. This man has been deceived 
by the politicians, who endeavored to make capital of him, and 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 45 

to his ignorance of the worthlessness and servility of this class of 
men, much of his subsequent folly is to be attributed. He en- 
tirely misunderstood the character and temper of our people. With 
an unaffected love of liberty, they have their full share of com- 
mon sense, and the declamation which would sway an Hungarian 
serf, or excite a Saxon peasant, was harmless in a community of 
educated freemen. He has had his day, and it is his fate to be 
soon forgotten ; and the time has now arrived when a grave pro- 
position, to make the United States the Don Quixote of nations, 
the redresser of the grievances of the world, excites a smile from 
Maine to California. The politicians who adopted, and the 
crowds that gathered round this clever adventurer, have already 
almost forgotten his existence ; and although the material aid 
that charity or fanaticism may have given him, is totally inade- 
quate to revolutionize the kingdoms of Europe, it is to be hoped 
that it will be productive of personal comforts. I saw but three 
persons in my route with the Kossuth hat and feather : they were 
silly looking young men, and were generally objects of good- 
humored laughter. I mention this little matter as evidence of 
the indisposition of our people to countenance tom-fooleries, which 
would be very acceptable to an ignorant European population ; 
and the adoption of this badge was, invariably, considered conclu- 
sive evidence of a weak intellect. 

The upper Mississippi contrasts most pleasantly with the 
lower. The latter river commences at the outlet of the Missouri, 
and is in fact a mere continuation of it, partaking of its charac- 
teristics of turbulence and power, and surcharged with its mud, 
which even discolors the waters of the ocean. There can be no 
permanent settlement except on the bluffs, as the alluvial banks 
are constantly washing away, twenty or thirty acres sometimes 
disappearing at once, while deserted houses are seen every few 
miles, the occupants being driven off by the encroachment of the 
river. When the river overflows the land, it sometimes leaves a 
deposit of four or five feet in depth. -On the Missouri this is 
not infrequent, and I noticed the advertisement of a town site on 



46 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

its banks, recommended as being based on rock. Farms are 
sometimes washed away, and sometimes enriched by a deposit of 
rich alluvial, and sometimes ruined by one of sand. The worst 
navigation on the lower Mississippi is from Cairo to St. Louis, as 
the river is comparatively shallow, and the channel frequently 
changes. St. Genevieve was once close to the river, but is now 
at a considerable distance, and a fellow- passenger told me, that 
he recollected the spot over which we were then passing as a corn 
field a few years since. 

The character of the upper Mississippi is the reverse of the 
lower in every particular. It is comparatively shallow, but its 
waters are pure and limpid ; the scenery is pleasing and diversi- 
fied, and new and beautiful views feast the eye every mile you 
travel. The shore is generally formed of solid rock, or bold 
bluffs, which are based in the river. Villages are frequent, and 
constantly increasing in number ; the surface of the stream is 
dotted with numerous wooded islands, and there is a general air 
of lightness and gayety, which contrasts most pleasingly with the 
sombre and powerful stream to which it is a tributary. Jolict 
and Marquette passed over this river from the mouth of the Wis- 
consin in 1673, until they reached the Arkansas, near the 33d° of 
lat.. and La Salle reached the ocean in 1682. These were the first 
white men who ever passed over the waters of this mighty estuary, 
sailing through gloomy forests, passing along desolate shores, and 
only occasionally meeting a few bands of savage hunters. The 
contrast that now exists can hardly be realized, and the progress 
of the great west almost exceeds belief When we observe the 
dense population along the banks, the various evidences of civili- 
zation that are constantly presenting themselves, the new settle- 
ments that are incessantly forming, and the numerous travellers 
and rich commerce that are wafted over its pure waters, we feel 
justified in applying to it the lines of Grray, with a slight alter- 
ation : — 

" What wonders in the western clime are spread, 
Where Mississippi wanders o'er his ample bed ; 



A WINTER FROM HO:^[E. * 47 

From his broad bosom life and verdure brings, 
Extending widely all his watery wings. 
Here with adventurous steam, and ready sail, 
The hardy people drive before the gale ; 
Or on frail arks to neighboring cities ride, 
That rise or glitter o'er the ambient tide." 

By the last census, the northern and southern States immedi- 
ately interested in the commerce of this river, contained a population 
of nearly ten millions; each successive census will show a great in- 
crease of population in the northern and ultra Mississippi States, 
with an additional number of States. They will occupy the great ba- 
sin to the base of the Kooky Mountains, and extend to the shores of 
the Pacific. They must eventually control the political power of 
the country. It will be essentiall}^ an agricultural population, the 
bone and muscle of a great nation ; and while the commerce and 
manufactures of the country will be monopolized by the eastern 
and middle States, the West will be the granary from which they 
will derive their food. If variances of interest or sectional 
jealousies occasionally present themselves, they will be ephemeral ; 
and this great union of States will be perpetuated, not only by the 
bonds of brotherly love, but also by the iron bands of internal 
improvement. A liberal and wise policy on the part of the Gen- 
eral Grovernment towards the Mississippi States, will be conse- 
quent on their increased power ; and it is to be hoped, that the 
public lands will soon be liberally donated to the respective States 
within whose boundaries they are. The Indian tribes must soon 
be removed to some new locality, and not continued on the 
western frontier, as a cordon against further settlement. If not 
removed by the government, the western people will remove them. 
It is only a question of time ; the axe of the pioneer is the pre- 
cursor of civilization, as the appearance of the honey bee precedes 
the settlement of the wilderness. The rifle always accompanies 
the axe. The Indian must disappear ; it is his inevitable and 
painful destiny ; and it is a nice question for the statist and phi- 
lanthropist, what disposition shall be made of the remnants of 



48 A WINTER FEOM HOME. 

these barbarians. Contiguity to the white population is fatal to 
them ; they adopt all the vices, and none of the virtues of the 
white man ; and proximity always produces the dread conse- 
quences of disease and intemperance. Nothing can prevent the 
extension of western settlement, and all interposing obstacles 
must yield to the pressure of the immense population that will 
derive support from the cultivation of the western plains. Pro- 
gressive civilization annihilates barbarism, and as far as we finite 
mortals are capable of judging, a wise Providence never intended 
that this great country should be solely occupied by savage hunt- 
ers, whose ancestors displaced a superior race, as attested by the 
investigations of the most learned archaeologists. The Indian 
will disappear, the forest will bow to the axe, the mountains will 
disgorge their wealth, the plains will smile with golden harvests, 
the war-cry will yield to the voice of prayer, and predatory bands 
of robbers and murderers will be supplanted by a race of superior 
virtue and intelligence. The unarmed traveller will then pass in 
safety from ocean to ocean, the iron horse will speed through the 
valleys, bridges will span the streams, roads will extend in all 
directions, the steamer will navigate new rivers, the school-house 
and church will stand side by side, cities and towns will displace 
the Indian village ; cultivated farms ^will occupy the hunting 
grounds ; the light of the sun will vivify the sombre forest, and 
arts and manufactures, science and learning, will supersede bar- 
barism and ignorance. Unjust and partial legislation may retard, 
but cannot prevent this consummation. 

Governor Jay, a wise and astute statesman, thought that we 
should not require the use of the Mississippi in a hundred years, 
and Jefferson said that it was a century too soon to construct the 
Erie Canal. Both these eminent men were sincere, but neither 
foresaw the consequence of the liberal naturalization laws adopted 
by this country. The Mississippi is now one of the most fre- 
quented thoroughfares in the world, and the capacity of the Erie 
Canal is insufiicient to meet the requirements of the commerce of 
the country. Its speedy enlargement is imperatively demanded, 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 49 

and notwithstanding the covert and steady opposition of mongrel 
statesmen, the requisitions of the people must be complied with. 
No country presents greater inducements to the settler than the 
West. It is emphatically the home of the poor man. The cheap- 
ness of living and the facility of obtaining land, are among its 
principal recommendations. Almost every man in the country is 
a landed proprietor. My driver from Dubuque owns a considerable 
farm, and the waiter who made my fires, told me that he has two 
hundred acres of land. He is a decent Irishman, and purchased 
this property from his little savings. Many persons at the East 
would greatly improve their condition, if they could only be per- 
suaded to transfer themselves and families to this section of the 
country. They would enjoy happy homes, with the certainty of a 
comfortable support and prospective fortunes. There is a good 
opening for mechanics in the towns on the Upper Mississippi. 
Sober and industrious men are almost certain to do well, even with- 
out capital, and they can obtain a social position, from which they 
are excluded in the more artificial circles of the Eastern States. 
One of the best houses in Dubuque is owned by a mechanic. Car- 
penters, masons, shoemakers, tailors, hatters, glaziers'and painters 
— boat-builders and furniture makers are in great requisition. 
There are also good openings in many of the towns for physicians 
and dentists, and academies for boys and girls are sure to succeed. 
Market gardeners will do well by locating themselves in the vicinity 
of the larger towns. The country is healthy, the air pure, living 
cheap, and rents low. Day laborers and house servants are in great 
requisition. But those who settle here, must not expect to succeed 
without sobriety and industry, and with these virtues, their chance 
of accumulating a competence, is infinitely greater than in the 
old States. In most of the river towns you can live in good 
style for one thousand dollars a year ; and in the best for double 
that sum. With a capital of ten thousand dollars, a man is rich ; 
with fifty thousand, wealthy. Intelligent and refined persons 
are always to be met with, and the nucleus of an agreeable society 
is perceptible in every considerable village. There are some 
3 



50 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

sacrifices to be made, it is true, by cultivated persons coming from 
our eastern cities, but they are such as are incident to a new 
country, and are rapidly disappearing. 

This country is, of course, overrun with speculators in wild 
lands, improved farms, town sites, city and village lots, and mill 
privileges ; others are trying their fortunes in lumber, mines, 
merchandise, and every thing that is to be bought and sold. Many 
fail, and are succeeded by others, as eager and hungry as them- 
selves. But these men are essential to the advancement of a 
new country ; they build towns and villages, roads and bridges — 
establish hotels and ferries, and, in one word, lay the broad foun- 
dations of public prosperity. Some make fortunes, which they 
frequently spend at the East, and others who have not been so 
fortunate, wander off to the Sandwich Islands, Oregon, New-Mex- 
ico, or California. 

The moneyed men who reach the western side of the Missis- 
sippi, realize large profits from the use of their capital. There 
are no usury laws, and banks are not tolerated by law. There 
is no copper money South or West, and nothing sells for less than 
half a dime. Sixpences and three cent pieces are unusual. Eas- 
tern bank notes are generally used, but the most common cur- 
rency consists of Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia bank bills, and 
those of Clark & Brothers of St. Louis. They have a high char- 
acter in the upper country, and are preferred to all others. Money 
commands a high price here — generally from two to three per 
cent, a month, and frequently a much greater sum. This is a 
great drawback to the prosperity of the country, and can only be 
corrected by the introduction of a good banking system, which 
will invite foreign capital. If the people, however, are blind to 
their own interests, they must continue to suffer until experience 
has couched the cataracts that scale their eyes. The poorest 
class are generally the greatest sufferers from this state of things, 
and many of the farms are covered with mortgages for money 
obtained at an excessive rate of interest. No business will jus- 
tify these enormous rates, which eventually falls upon the consu- 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 51 

mer. It will retard the prosperity of any community, and even- 
tual loss will frequently fall upon the lenders themselves. They 
will discover in the long run, that if their business is momenta- 
rily profitable, in the end it will occasion a widespread and gene- 
ral insolvency. 

" Would they be blest, despise usurious gains, 
Be virtuous, and be happy for their pains," 

would be appropriate advice to these phlebotomizers of the strug- 
gling poor. 

There are very few professional gamblers on these rivers, and 
but little gambling. During our trip from New-Orleans to the 
Falls of St. Anthony, we saw but one card-table in the saloon of 
the boat. Gamblers are generally marked men, and the Minne- 
sota Year Book for 1851, in enumerating the list of occupations 
in St. Paul, has six gamblers on the catalogue. One of these 
worthies, who had administered morphine in brandy to a returned 
Californian, with the intention of robbing him when sufficiently 
drugged, was set ashore and lynched by the passengers. He was 
tied to a tree, and received sixty-three lashes on his bare back. 
This summary and severe punishment was justified by his infa- 
mous attempt. 

There are very few colored people in this country, and none 
at the hotels. The village or steamboat barber is generally a 
negro, and a well behaved, decent person. You occasionally se 
black waiters on the steamboats, and they are sometimes inter- 
mixed with whites. But the attendance of whites is usually pre- 
ferred. The colored people are generally as improvident and 
thriftless here as in all other parts of the country. 

In all the newspapers, you meet with advertisements of ex- 
tensive nurseries of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, plants, 
vines, and the more delicate garden fruits. Several persons have 
gone largely into this business, and are doing well. Every boat 
lands quantities of trees and plants, which are in great demand ; 
and whenever I met a return farm-wagon in the country, the 



52 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

owner had some with him. They grow rapidly : and the prairie 
farmers will soon boast of their shade trees and orchards. In a 
few years fruit will be as abundant as it is now rare. The cli- 
mate is not favorable to the peach ; but the apple, plum, and 
grape are productive. 

Game is found in great abundance at the West. The brook 
trout frequents almost all the streams in Wisconsin and Minne- 
sota, and often weighs from two to four pounds. The perch, 
sucker, a fish called salmon, buifalo, sheepshead, sun, and catfish 
are taken in the rivers. Some of these are tolerable, but the 
best not comparable with fish taken in salt water. The catfish 
is the Leviathan of the Mississippi — grows to a great size, and 
is a voracious feeder, with a most indiscriminating appetite. 
Deer, wild turkeys — almost every variety of water fowl — and the 
pinnated grouse, are common ; while the quail is found in almost 
incredible numbers. In riding over the prairies, we saw the wild 
goose, cranes, herons, trumpeter swan, wood ducks, grouse, golden 
and gray plover, yellow shanks, tattler, blue, indigo, and yellow 
birds ; high-holes, and other varieties of woodpeckers ; wild 
pigeons, doves, bob-o-links, in their northern dress ; blue-jays, 
with their harsh note and splendid plumage ; robins, sparrows, 
swallows, martens, and others of the feathered gentry. We also 
picked flowers resembling crocuses immediately after a snow 
storm, while the daisy and other early flowers were surrounded 
by the rich green of the all-p^vading prairie grass. 

Captain Robinson, of Newburgh, Orange County, in this 
State, has introduced the carp from Europe into the Hudson 
River. It is a celebrated pond fish ; and when carefully pre- 
pared, quite palatable. I am surprised that the delicious bass, 
which is peculiar to Otsego Lake, has not been transplanted to 
others of our small lakes. It is one of our best fresh-water 
fish, and only inferior to the speckled trout and moskelonge. It 
is taken in nets — always refusing the hook. The pinnated 
grouse, as is well known, is abundant in the Western States. 
They are netted in large numbers, and sold at a low price. It is 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 53 

well worthy the consideration of our eastern sportsmen, whether 
this bird should not be introduced among us. It formerly ex- 
isted at Long Island and the Pocono Mountain in Pennsylva- 
nia. A few hundred let out in these places — on the mountains 
in Sullivan County, the Highlands, and various other places — 
would, in a few years, richly pay for their introduction. These 
birds can be purchased in Illinois for twenty-five cents each, and 
a considerable number for much less. About five years since I 
saw a coop at Chicago containing some dozens, which were for 
sale at a shilling each. There are many persons with whom a 
contract could be made to furnish any given number, to be deli- 
vered at New- York. The time consumed in transporting them 
is so short that it is probable that few or none would die on the 
passage. The California quail, which is a beautiful bird, might 
also be advantageously introduced, although it is doubtful whe- 
ther they would stand our winters. At all events, they would 
live in Southern Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Louisiani, and most of 
the Southern States. In Florida and Texas they would cer- 
tainly succeed, and not be so likely to be destroyed. The quail 
can also be procured, at a trifling expense, when thinned off" with 
us by a severe winter. In Iowa they are netted by hundreds of 
dozens. They should be transported in low coops, only high 
enough for them to stand up in, as they are apt to injure them- 
selves by striking their heads against the roof. The introduc- 
tion of grouse and quail can be made at an inconsiderable ex- 
pense j and a small subscription among the lovers of the gun 
would not be considered onerous. In letting the birds out, as 
little publicity as possible should be given as to the time and 
place, as there are many worthless poachers and pot-shooters, 
calling themselves sportsmen, who would not hesitate to destroy 
them at once. 

The boats on the Upper are smaller than those that navigate 

the Lower Mississippi. They are generally well officered, and 

accidents are rare. There are no snags in this river, and the 

currents are not sufficiently strong to impede navigation. 

3* 



54 A WINTER FROM HOME. 

There are some fine boats among them, and the accommodations 
are excellent. You occasionally meet with a stern-wheel boat, 
which is preferred for the more shallow and smaller rivers. 
Their progress is nearly equal to that of the side-wheel boats ; 
and one was pointed cut to us as one of the fastest boats on the 
river. The price of passage is extremely moderate, and they 
appear to be well patronized. These boats generally draw from 
two to three feet of water, and carry several hundred tons of 
freight in the hold and on the lower deck — the deck passengers 
travel on this deck, while the cabin is on the upper one. There 
are also berths in a building on the hurricane deck, occupied by 
the servants, which is designated " Texas." The deck passen- 
gers are generally Europeans. Americans, however humble, oc- 
cupy the cabin. This is the result of education which inculcates 
the pride of equality. 

Wherever we stopped, we met large numbers of emigrants 
bound to Oregon and California. They generally travel in can- 
vas covered wagons, drawn by from one to six yoke of oxen ; and 
you frequently see cows intermixed with them. This emigra- 
tion is a present injury to the Western States, but hordes of 
new comers will soon supply their place. I conversed with se- 
veral of them, and found them in good spirits and confident of 
success. Some contemplated settling in Oregon and California 
as farmers ; but most intended to dig for gold. The first per- 
son who crossed over to the Pacific by land is said by Lepage 
Dupratz to have been an Indian named Zazou ; and it is curious 
to contrast his solitary journey with the immense cavalcade now 
on the same route. The auri sacra fames is universal. Many 
of these people leave comfortable homes and good farms for 
a comparatively unknown country, and a hazardous and uncer- 
tain occupation. It is estimated that at least forty thousand 
emigrants will pass over the plains to these new possessions 
during the present season. They are buoyed up by expectation 
and hope — 

" Which springs eternal in the human breast." 



A WINTER FKOM HOME. 55 

To these inducements may be added the enterprising character 
ot our people ; their natural restlessness, sanguine temperament, 
and migratory habits. The amount of suffering that they must 
undergo is incredible ; and it is painful to see the women and 
children who crowd the wagons, without the slightest idea of the 
difficulties that obstruct their path. There sits the mother pa- 
tient and contented ; the daughters blooming with health ; the 
children petting a favorite dog, who springs into the wagon at 
their call : the grown son with his ox whip in his hand, watching 
the resting team, and the father standing by the roadside, with 
his thick muddy boots and black beard of some days' growth, but 
with an air of indomitable resolution. It is a picture for a paint- 
er : a theme for a poet ; and collectively the exodus of these emi- 
grants will be commemorated by some future historian. They 
are the missionaries of liberty, and are going out to found new 
States : and their descendants will march to the Isthmus of Da- 
rien, occupy the archipelago of the Pacific, and swarm on the al- 
most unknown Isles of the Indian ocean. But enormous as this 
emigration is, it is but a part of the crowd pressing on to the re- 
mote regions of Oregon and California. While these land trav- 
ellers are moving along from day to day with slow and tedious 
steps, an equal, if not greater number of adventurers in ships and 
steamers are doubling Cape Horn, crossing to Panama, passing 
the hills of Tehuantepec, or floating over the waters of Nicaragua. 
But notwithstanding this mighty stream of emigration is in move- 
ment, other crowds are rushing forward to recently acquired or 
newly formed States. The press to Illinois and Iowa still con- 
tinues : the boats on the Mississippi and Red Rivers are filled 
with emigrants to Texas and Minnesota : and the encampment 
fires of new comers nightly light up the woods of Florida. Europe 
pours out her children by thousands on our shores : and the Celt 
and Saxon ; the German, the Gaul, the Scot, and Hungarian ; 
the Dane, the Swede, and Norwegian ; the Hollander and Italian 
meet in this country to fraternize, and unite in building up the 
greatest edifice of political and religious liberty that the world 



5() A WINTEK FKOM HOME. 

ever saw. A railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific should be 
promptly constructed by the general government. It is essential 
to the union of the Pacific and Atlantic States ; and considera- 
tions of cost are insignificant in comparison with the utility and 
necessity of this great national work. It would be national to us, 
and international to Asia and Europe. There are already five 
States, several territories, and three millions of people west of the 
Mississippi, and this population is increasing at a ratio that defies 
calculation. The western people should insist upon this measure ; 
and forgetting their petty bickerings and small politics, unite to 
effect its accomplishment. It must be done in time, and the 
sooner that it is commenced the better for the good of all. 

We travelled to Minnesota in a beautiful new steamer on her 
first trip. She was received at the various points by crowds of 
people, loud huzzas, and the firing of cannon. A small gun on 
the bow of the boat, and the shrill steam whistle, promptly re- 
sponded to these joyous demonstrations. At the mouth of the St. 
Croix our reception was particularly lively. A crowd of several hun- 
dred persons was collected on the shore, and the worthy black- 
smith of the place honored us with several salutes from his anvil 
in the absence of more regular ordinance. At the foot of Lake 
Pepin, we saw several respectable looking Sioux Indians, and 
passed frequent villages on the shores of the river just emerging 
from the forest, or growing up on the prairies, like summer flow- 
ers. Lake Pepin is about thirty miles long, and from three to 
five broad. It is a beautiful sheet of water, begirt by high hills, 
and rocky cliffs, among which the celebrated Maiden's rock towers 
conspicuously. It sometimes happens that the waters of this lake 
are so violently agitated by southeast winds, that the steamers 
refuse to navigate it. It is the greatest obstruction to early navi- 
gation on the upper river, the ice continuing in it some weeks 
longer than in the more rapid currents above and below. It is 
contemplated by the inhabitants of St. Paul's to obviate this diffi- 
culty by the employment of an ice boat. In passing up the St. 
Croix to Stillwater, we cut through ice several inces thick, and 



A WINTER FROM HOME. 57 

about a mile in width. During the nights, the sky was illumi- 
nated by the burning of the long prairie grass on the side hills. 
On one occasion we were called from our state rooms by the gen- 
tlemanly clerk to witness an auroral display, which was one of the 
most beautiful of the many that so frequently occur in this north- 
ern latitude. It was a beautiful arch extending from east to west, 
based on the horizon, and completely spanning the sky. This 
natural bridge was apparently about eight feet in width, beauti- 
fully colored, and so translucent that the stars could be seen 
through it. It continued about an hour, and commenced disap- 
pearing at the eastern extremity. The captain told me that he 
had seen two similar atmospheric exhibitions, but that they were 
not frequent in this shape, although the most beautiful auroral 
displays are common in this country. 

St. Paul's and St. Anthony are thriving villages, particularly 
the former, which is at the head of Mississippi River naviga- 
tion below the Falls, although boats can go to their foot without 
difficulty ; they are about eight miles apart, and there is an ex- 
cellent road between them. The falls afford one of the greatest 
manufacturing privileges in the country, and were named by 
Recollect, a Franciscan priest, who was the first educated white 
man who saw them. They are eight hundred and fifty miles from 
St. Louis, by the river route. The greatest perpendicular fall 
does not exceed twenty feet, at the bottom of which there is a 
shoot of some ten or fifteen more ; they are divided in the centre 
by an island covered with trees, and there is a rope ferry imme- 
diately above the upper rapids. The country above the Falls is 
described as being very beautiful, and numerous settlements are 
making along the banks of the river. A stage runs from St. 
Paul's to Fort Ripley, one hundred and fifty miles up the river, 
and a stern-wheel boat navigates about ninety miles to the Sauk 
Rapids. It is supposed that the river can be made navigable five 
hundred miles above the Falls, by improving the Sauk Rapids, re- 
moving the boulders, and cutting round the Little Falls. The 
country at this latter spot is thus described by the Rev. Mr. 



58 A WINTER FROM HOME. ' 

Boutwell : " The prairie extends as far as the eye can reach, with 
here and there a clump of oaks, which, at a distance, look like 
New England orchards. It is the most interesting and inviting 
tract of country that I have ever seen. If there is any thing that 
can meet the wishes, and fill the soul of man with gratitude, it is 
found here. What would require the labor of years in preparing 
the land for cultivation in many of the old States, is here all pre- 
pared to the hand. As far as the eye can reach, is one continued 
field of grass and flowers, waving in the passing breeze, and ex- 
hibiting the appearance of a country which has been cultivated 
for centuries, but now deserted by its inhabitants. The gentle 
swells which are seen here and there, give a pleasing variety ; the 
soil is apparently easy of cultivation, a black earth and a mixture 
of black sand. Nothing can be more picturesque and grand than 
the high banks at a distance, rising before you as you descend. 
The islands in the stream are most of them alluvial, with a soil of 
the richest quality." This beautiful country is now rapidly filling 
up, with a hardy New England population, and when the Indian 
title is extinguished, by the confirmation of existing treaties, 
Minnesota will soon be admitted as an independent member of the 
confederacy. 

In the vicinity of the Falls are several beautiful lakes, which 
are visited by strangers. A large one has been recently discovered, 
some thirty miles in length. Lakes Harriet and Calhoun are 
considered the most beautiful in the country ; the roads to them 
are good, and they abound in wild fowl, and several varieties of 
fish. Fort Snelling is a few miles below the Falls, at the junction 
where the St. Peter's enters the Mississippi. This is one of the 
most important afiluents of the latter river; and one of the most 
respectable merchants in St. Paul's informed me, that he had as- 
cended it three hundred miles, in a steamboat. The territory 
through which it passes is included within the last Indian cession, 
and settlers are already erecting their dwellings and clearing 
their farms. In a few years it will be tilled with a thriving and 
industrious population. 

The system of internal improvement adopted in this country, 



A WINTER FEOM HOME. 59 

will be peculiarly advantageous to the western States. They will 
soon be covered with a network of canals and railroads, which 
will not only develope their immense wealth, but render their 
access easy and pleasing to the eastern traveller. In a few years 
this will be a fashionable summer tour, and a more picturesque 
and beautiful one cannot well be imagined, abounding with the 
most exquisite scenery, and including every variety of country. 
The traveller will take a railroad at New- York, pursue his course 
along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Chicago, passing through 
the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, 
and Illinois ; from Chicago he will travel by railroad to Rock 
Island City, opposite to Davenport, in Iowa, one of the most 
beautiful spots in the world ; here he will take a steamer to the 
Falls of St. Anthony, voyage upon the Wisconsin River, or visit 
the sublime scenery of the Falls of St. Croix He will then return 
to the flourishing town of Dubuque, seat himself in a car on the 
opposite shore, pass through the mineral hills and sequestered 
valley of the City of Galena, cross the beautiful Rock River to 
Chicago, and continue on to the ancient city of Detroit, by the 
Michigan central railroad ; here he will cross the Detroit River to 
Upper Canada, from whence he will proceed by rail to Buffalo. 
But if he chooses to vary his mode of travel, he may return to 
Buffalo on one of the fine boats that navigate the upper lakes ; 
stopping at Mackinaw, the Michilamackanac of Morse's geography, 
and the ultima thule of civilization in our schoolboy days. From 
this island he may diverge to the Sault St. Marie, and gaze upon 
Lake Superior, the greatest body of fresh water in the world. At 
Buffalo the world is all before him ; he may limit his desires to a 
visit to the Falls of Niagara, or pass down Lake Ontario, shooting 
the rapids of the St. Lawrence in a steamer, and stop at Mon- 
treal, preparatory to a detour to Quebec, the only walled city in 
Northern America, If he prefers continuing on, he will cross to 
St. John's, embark on Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga, steam 
over the beautiful crystal waters of Lake George, and terminate 
his travels at Saratoga Springs. If ambitious of a more extended 
tour, he will leave the Lake Champlain boat at Burlington, ride 



60 A WINTER FKOM HOME. 



i 



over the Green Mountains of Vermont to the Connecticut River 
on a railroad, thence to the White Mountains and Boston, by the 
game mode of conveyance ; or he may vary his route by visiting 
Lake Winnipiseogee, and passing through the Franconia Notch, re- 
turn by the way of Sebago Pond to Portland. From Portland to 
Boston he vrill find a seat in a railroad car, and from this point 
he will proceed rapidly by rail and boat to Newport, where he 
will inhale the healthy breezes of the ocean, after being invigor- 
ated by the pure atmosphere of the north and west. He will 
then have made a tour of several thousand miles, in an incredibly 
short space of time, and at a comparatively trifling expense. He 
will return home refreshed in mind and body, with additional 
knowledge of his own country, proud of his birthright, and pos- 
sibly, elevated from the humble dimensions of the city cockney, 
or village provincial, to the larger standard of an American citi- 
zen. He will never have occasion to regret the temporary aban- 
donment of the vapid pleasures and proverbial ennui of a 
fashionable watering place : and his sons and daughters, instead 
of vegetating in monotonous society and growing pale in heated 
rooms, will return to their ordinary duties or pleasures, with in- 
creased zest, and a greater capacity for enjoyment. 



THE END. 



\.6Ja'2^ 



